Gary Neville praises ‘incredible’ Arsenal signing after Tottenham win | Football

Gary Neville hailed David Raya as an ‘absolutely incredible’ signing for Arsenal after he helped the Gunners dispatch of north London rivals Tottenham.

Raya made a rare mistake in Arsenal’s deflating 2-2 draw with Wolves last week, colliding with Gabriel and allowing the basement boys to score an injury-time equaliser.

Neville questioned how Raya would respond to his uncharacteristic blunder in Arsenal’s huge north London derby on Sunday but was impressed by his reaction.

Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze stole the headlines after both scoring twice in an emphatic 4-1 win, but Neville was keen to praise Raya for his ‘dominant’ performance in between the posts.

Raya looked back to his best as Arsenal breezed past Spurs and Neville said he has been an ‘absolutely incredible’ signing for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Eyebrows were raised when Arsenal signed Spanish shot-stopper Raya from Brentford in 2023 as Arteta already had England international Aaron Ramsdale at the Emirates Stadium.

But £27m signing Raya quickly displaced Ramsdale as Arsenal’s No. 1 and has been one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League ever since.

Asked how Arsenal coped with the growing title pressure against Tottenham, Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast: ‘Really well in the end.

‘At half-time they may have looked back and thought, “how are we in this position?” because they were so dominant in the game.

‘They caused their own problems once or twice and I was wondering if these mistakes were becoming contagious and would cost a team who were dominant in most matches.

‘In the end it was really important what happened today. It’s too early to feel the real title pressure, we’re not quite in the home straight, but this is going to get really hot when we get into April. Games really do count now and Arsenal have been in a difficult run.

‘I was thinking about it before the game and I singled out David Raya because I think he’s been absolutely incredible, what a goalkeeper he’s been this season and since he joined Arsenal.

‘But he had all of Thursday and Friday to think long and hard about that Wolves game and listen to the noise. How is he going to respond? Is he going to be a bit more tentative and wobbly and shaky?

‘Absolutely not, absolutely not. Look at his body language, he had authority and dominated his area and caught every single cross that came in. It was really important for him today to get back to his mistake-free best and he made a special save as well.

‘Arsenal had a job to do today and they’ve done it and it was a good day for Raya, who has been brilliant all season.’

Arsenal’s convincing derby win puts them five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

Discussing the title race, Neville added: ‘Man City are dangerous with the fact they’ve got [Omar] Marmoush, [Erling] Haaland, [Rayan] Cherki, [Antoine] Semenyo, [Phil] Foden.

‘If they can keep the centre-backs fit, they’ve got a chance. The goalkeeper’s good, the manager is exceptional.

‘The celebrations at the end [after Newcastle] from Haaland and Pep Guardiola were meaningful. They were sending a message – that was mind games at play. Pep will say it’s not, but it is.

‘Every time you speak now for the next two months, every time you do something on the pitch, it’s going to be transmitting to the opposition team – that’s vulnerabilities, strength, celebrations, whatever it is.

‘So what Arsenal had to cope with and the questions that they’ve had to answer, I missed one of them out and that was the fact that Man City have sent a message that we’re coming for you and we’re going to be breathing down your neck.

‘Arsenal have withstood that, and they’re going to have to withstand that for another six to eight weeks. They were never going to get this Premier League title handed to them on a plate. It doesn’t work like that.

‘It’s a struggle, it’s a battle, it’s a fight and this City team aren’t quite the team that were going through those fights with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, but there’s still some characters in that dressing room who understand it and know it – and particularly the manager, so they’re going to be so dangerous.

‘I think Arsenal will get there, but it doesn’t surprise me that they are making mistakes and that City are coming back at them. They’ll almost crawl over the line in the end.

‘It’s going to be a massive struggle. I don’t think it’s going to be easy and that game is going to be monumental at the Etihad [in the Premier League on April 18].’

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