Gary Neville criticised David Raya for his "terrible" kicking against Manchester City, pointing out how the Arsenal goalkeeper struggled to stay on his feet.
Raya, 28, kept a clean sheet during Sunday's dull 0-0 draw and only had to make one save through a combination of Arsenal's dogged defending and City's blunt attack. But when it came to having the ball at his feet, Neville was less than impressed after a few hairy moments from the Spaniard.
During the first half of what was billed as a potential title decider, the Manchester United legend bemoaned on commentary for Sky Sports : "Raya's kicking has been terrible. It's not helping him that he keeps falling over as he kicks it."
Raya was also criticised by fans throughout the tense match for appearing to waste time. The 28-year-old, who's on loan from Brentford and likely to be signed permanently for £30million this summer, was shown a yellow card in the 79th minute by referee Anthony Taylor after taking too long at a goal kick.
Neville's ex-United team-mate, Peter Schmeichel, noted on BBC Radio 5 Live that the home crowd were "very unhappy" with Raya and added during the stalemate: "They think he's wasting time."
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But the Spain international will be pleased with his performance, having kept his second clean sheet of the season against reigning champions City. His 10th shut-out of the campaign also saw him become the first opposition goalkeeper to keep a Premier League clean sheet against City at the Etihad Stadium since Crystal Palace's Vicente Guaita did so in October 2021.
That was a 2-0 win for Palace and while Mikel Arteta's side weren't able to come away with all three points, the Gunners boss was content. "It was a really tough, really close match against a team that is unbelievable," Arteta told club media. "I think the boys competed really, really well. We were really disciplined and patient with when we had to be.
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David Raya took his time on the ball against Manchester City (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
But Gary Neville criticised the Arsenal goalkeeper after a few hairy moments (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)"The upside was that we had some big chances, some big situations that we didn't convert and the fact that we lacked a little bit of composure, especially with the ball in the first phase to play more, to have more, to be more courageous to play but credit to them because they make your life difficult."
Asked if his players felt like they could've won the game, the Arsenal manager said: "That's the feeling I get every day in the dressing room. That's unbelievable. You know, we have prevented this team for the first time in three years to score a goal at home. And that tells you the difficulty of it.
"But they want more. And as individuals, we could have done more. As a team, we could have done more. And that's good to see. We are making the steps, but let's maintain all the good things we are doing and let's keep improving."
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