Well, that was just a little bit stressful, wasn’t it?
With the country watching and without his first-choice midfield, Mikel Arteta has just led Arsenal to their third win away at Tottenham Hotspur in as many years.
It wasn’t a game full of attacking quality, but the Gunners put in another defensive masterclass, and as if it was scripted, Gabriel Magalhães nodded home the winner from a Bukayo Saka corner.
However, as brilliant as the Brazilian was and as deserving of the plaudits that he is, there’s another starter who deserves just as much praise.
Gabriel's game in numbers
Yes, just like last season, Arsenal exploited Spurs’ inability to defend setpieces and scored their winning goal from the head of Gabriel, who was awarded the Player of the Match award.
That said, while the former LOSC Lille ace was the only name on the scoresheet, he would’ve still been in with a shout for the award had he not scored, as alongside William Saliba, Ben White and Jurrien Timber, he helped to keep Ange Postecoglou’s attackers relatively quiet.
The 26-year-old was so impressive that the Standard’s Simon Collings gave him a 9/10 after the match, writing that as well as his ‘thumping header’, he ‘made so many important blocks’. While it’s a high rating, it’s more than justified by his statistics from the match.
Minutes
95′
Goals
1
Clearances
7
Tackles
2
Interceptions
1
Duels (Won)
4 (3)
Lost Possession
6
Shots Blocked
2
Touches
40
In his 95 minutes of action, he scored one goal, made seven clearances, two tackles, and one interception, won three of four duels, lost the ball just six times, blocked two shots, and took 40 touches.
In all, the 6 foot 3 “beast”, as dubbed by journalist Robert Lutesich, was the match winner and fully deserved the adulation, but one of his teammates was just as good.
David Raya's performance in numbers
Yes, one of the other standout performers from today’s victory is Spanish goalkeeper David Raya, who is proving his manager more and more right every game this season.
Now, while the former Brentford ace wasn’t peppered with shots, thanks to his defence in front of him, he was alert and ready to brilliantly deal with the ones that made it through, and on top of that, his ability to command his space was in stark contrast to his opposite number.
For his efforts between the sticks, Collings gave the 29-year-old an 8/10, writing that he ‘made several good saves early on and was solid all afternoon’ and that he now has ‘a real presence about him.’
Minutes
95′
Saves (In the box)
5 (4)
Goals Prevented
0.33
Run Outs (Successful)
1 (1)
Claims
2
Touches
48
Clearances
2
Fouls Won
1
Duels Won
1 (100%)
Unsurprisingly, his statistics from the match are seriously impressive as well, as in his 95 minutes of action, he made five saves, four of which were inside the box, prevented 0.33 goals, ran out once and was successful in doing so, made two claims, took 48 touches, made two clearances, won 100% of his duels and won a foul to boot.
Ultimately, the Spaniard’s “astonishing” performance in goal, as described by one Arsenal journalist and content creator, won’t get quite the same attention as Gabriel’s match-winning goal, and understandably so, but it was arguably just as important, and if Raya can keep up this sort of form then he’ll be the favourite to win the golden gloves for a second season running.
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