David Raya was shown a yellow card in Spain’s match with Denmark for delaying a restart – weeks after Arsenal were accused of being ‘masters of the dark arts’. Raya, 29, was part of the team which was slammed in the aftermath of their 2-2 draw with title rivals Manchester City last month. Mikel Arteta’s side were criticised for time wasting after Leandro Trossard was sent off, leaving Arsenal a man short....For More READ THE FULL STORY▶▶
The Gunners and City headed into the international break level on points – one behind Liverpool at the Premier League summit – as the majority of their players headed off to represent their country.
Raya is among the Arsenal contingent to have played during the break – and he managed to see the funny side after he was booked for delaying a goal kick in additional time during Spain’s 1-0 win over Denmark in the Nations League.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher had previously singled out Raya in comments referencing Arsenal’s use of the ‘dark arts’ last month. Speaking on The Overlap, he said: “When I mention the Morurinho thing, he was always ahead of the game in terms of trying to gain an advantage somewhere.
“There’s one thing I do notice Arsenal doing more than anyone. I don’t know if the stats back me up I think the goalkeeper goes down a lot more than other goalkeepers in tense situations.
“The rule is a goalkeeper can’t go off so that’s definitely one that the coaching staff at Arsenal are more switched on about that anyone else. I see Raya go down in pressure situations.”
Arsenal were accused of indulging in the ‘dark arts’ during their recent draw with Manchester City
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, meanwhile, insists this is old club shouldn’t be bothered by criticism over any perceived dark arts and that they should, in fact, embrace it. He said in The Mail: “Mikel Arteta’s men do not deserve the criticism they’ve received for how they went on to extract a result from the Etihad Stadium.
“They should be celebrated for how cleverly they contained City, to the extent that Pep Guardiola’s magnificent winning machine relied on John Stones scoring their latest-ever Premier League goal to avoid losing.
“Arsenal were leading 2-1, down to 10 men after a ridiculous red card for Leandro Trossard, and had 45 minutes to play against one of the world’s greatest teams, the champions, searching for a fifth consecutive title. What else could they do except make sure they defended their slender advantage with everything they had? “It’s like asking Frank Bruno to let go of Mike Tyson. You’re begging to be knocked out. I’ve heard the holier-than-thou comments coming from various voices within the game, as if what Arsenal did was ugly and unfair.”...For More READ THE FULL STORY ▶▶
