David Raya’s “brilliant” reaction to a “double mistake” during the Gunners’ 3-2 victory over Tottenham has been praised by Arsenal veteran David Seaman. Spurs were able to tie the score due to the Spanish goalkeeper’s poor decision, but Seaman thinks Raya’s response showed how good he is.

As Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s own goal was built upon by Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, the north London derby appeared to be easily won by Arsenal. But Raya’s error in the 64th minute offered Tottenham a chance, as Cristian Romero took advantage of the keeper’s mishandled pass.

Even with a late penalty from Son Heung-min, Arsenal managed to hold onto their slim lead and conclude the weekend as the Premier League’s top team. In his post-match press conference, Mikel Arteta stood up for Raya, complimenting the goalkeeper’s “sensational” response and calling him “lucky” to be in the team.

Despite realizing the possible consequences of his mistake, Raya assured supporters that he would grow as a player and learn from it. The great David Seaman of Arsenal criticized goalkeeper Raya on the Seaman Says podcast for ‘judging’ Romero’s move rather than waiting following his first error in the team’s derby triumph analysis. Though Raya’s recovery from the embarrassing incident was praised, he said the Spanish international ‘passed the exam with flying colors’.

“I was anxious for the last 20 minutes after Raya made a mistake with the back pass,” Seaman stated. He found himself divided. He was going to play it, but he didn’t do anything because he noticed that someone had blocked his path.

He hit Romero squarely, but he made an incorrect estimate right at the end, which is not how you play the game. All you can do is attempt to wait. Although it was a double error, I have to give him credit because, to be honest, even though it placed a lot of pressure on the squad while we were coasting, he performed incredibly well after the error.

“He responded really well, coming out for every cross and remaining a rock at the back. It’s encouraging for goalkeepers to make mistakes, especially in situations like that where you can tell the supporters are fired up and ready to play again because they believe they can win it back.” His excellent response only serves to highlight his skill as a goalie. Though there wasn’t much for him to save, the error was a test, and he passed it with flying colors.”

Ben White’s outstanding performance was singled out by Seaman, who also criticized Spurs for not “doing their homework properly” and letting the defender wreck havoc on Guglielmo Vicario in the first half.

The former England goalie continued, “He is brilliant at blocking the goalkeeper off and the goalkeepers are silly for getting involved because they should know.”


“In the first half, Tottenham neglected their homework as evidenced by leaving Ben White on Vicario. They managed to get someone to mark Ben White in the second half, but it was already too late. Ben White was a genius, and Vicario should have stayed out of it. Ben executes the move flawlessly, giving just the slightest prod to stop him in his tracks when he ought to have come out for that third goal—rather than punching it.”

Thomas Partey, a Ghanaian who shone in midfield with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, is a player that Seaman hopes can stay healthy for the remainder of the season.

“Hopefully, Partey remains healthy for the remainder of the campaign. He’s that soothing presence,” he went on. “Jorginho is like that as well because he’s got so much experience but with Partey you’ve got this tall, strong, athletic midfielder that can hold and then let Declan do what he needs to do.”