Raya joins Arsenal: Page 32 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Raya joins Arsenal

Sicario2 - Tier 1

Burnwinter

Well I've been suss on exactly how much Raya himself has to do with his recent clean sheets given we've practically faced negative xG, but I will give the man credit just for being on the pitch at this point given how well we're doing. Even an inanimate carbon rod can become a hero under Mikel Arteta.

goon

Burnwinter I will give the man credit just for being on the pitch at this point given how well we're doing. Even an inanimate carbon rod can become a hero under Mikel Arteta.

I think you're doing him a disservice here. Raya is doing his part if creating that low xG environment. Think back to his early season performances and how uneasy we felt each time he got the ball, or each time he came for a cross, or how out of sync our centre backs were with him. That sort of thing infects our whole game.

There's now a measure of calm and assuredness now that surpasses the Ramsdale days and it plays a part in how we're performing.

Don Pacifico

Yeah, that stat feels like more of a reflection of our collective control of matches as opposed to the individual contribution from Raya...

Pepe LeFrits

I don't disagree, but given how much negative attention he got when arrived, largely due to the conventional wisdom re: keepers, he has probably earnt some credit the other now given the traditional view of how much a keeper influences his back four in terms of composure, communication, etc

Pepe LeFrits

... I still think our defence has it to prove btw, we're on a great run now but we need to keep it going. Only a few games ago we were on course for historically way too many goals against to win the league

Claudius

Most of our control comes in the top half of the field. But one of the things you’ll notice about the entire team is how quickly we move the ball, even when it comes back to our back half. Whenever we face an attack and the defenders recover the ball, they pass it quickly, often to Raya, and he also distributes it quickly. It’s this tempo that keeps teams constantly under pressure. Doesn’t feel like a massive thing, but Raya is definitely contributing to how we just sit on opponents.

Don Pacifico

Yeah, I don't disagree with any of this. There have definitely been some positives the last few months - but I'm still not sure the net gains to our 'control' are worth it versus investing in a GK who can consistently pull out match-winning saves. Appreciate that may make me sound like a goalkeeping dinosaur but our ability to control is predicated on the system working every match; in those where it breaks down, I'd like the reassurance of knowing that our goalie can ably deliver against his primary function.

Claudius

Don Pacifico you have to lean into your strengths. If you are a team that wants to possess the ball and move it quickly, you get a goalie who enables that. Raya also gives us the ability to beat the press and hit Havertz directly. We’ve leaned into keeping the opponent under pressure.

If we were a team that absorbed pressure, then I would want the best shot stopper in the world. But if we are going to hold teams over 7 games to an average of 0,3xG, I think we are focusing on the right strengths

lorddulaarsenal

Top tender. So alert, agile and good handling. Now settled in.

Don Pacifico

Claudius But if we are going to hold teams over 7 games to an average of 0,3xG, I think we are focusing on the right strengths

Well, up until a month or so ago, we definitely weren't keeping xG that low. Whilst I hope this is a step-change in our performance, it's very much the outlier as things stand.

Burnwinter

If he keeps a clean sheet at the Etihad I'll convert.

Claudius

Don Pacifico even if it’s a step down, we were still clearly the strongest team in the league on defense. The whole season, our defense has been far better than our rivals. We’ve suffered variance.

Claudius

Clrnc

Likely to be Ramsdale last appearance for us. Hope our fans can give him the love he deserved

Burnwinter

Truly hope he does well in this rare turnout, both for him and the club.

He's had very few opportunities this season and you can bet he'll be off at a cheaper price than we'd prefer in summer ... but hey ho. It's a bit hard to complain about anything at the moment 😞 😆

Big Willie

Burnwinter It's a bit hard to complain about anything at the moment 😞 😆

Not that some of us haven't tried 😂😂

Big Willie

goon I think you're doing him a disservice here. Raya is doing his part if creating that low xG environment. Think back to his early season performances and how uneasy we felt each time he got the ball, or each time he came for a cross, or how out of sync our centre backs were with him. That sort of thing infects our whole game.

Don't think that's true at all. Pretty much from his first training session prople started noticing how he would catch all balls in the air rather than palming them. His cross catching wasn't an issue back then aside from a few moments where he came out and didn't get to the ball, though I think we conceded from one of them. But his catching, despite his height, was always a strong point (obviously helped by those huge clown gloves) 😂

On the ball, it's not that people felt uneasy, its just that he was kicking long so often at no one and sometimes even out of play, that people just questioned what improvement there was in the regard and especially so compared to early 21/22 Ramsdale.

Burnwinter

goon I think you're doing him a disservice here. Raya is doing his part if creating that low xG environment.

Is he? Statistically xG is a measure of having the ball in a promising scoring position. The opposition keeper can influence xG by shutting the ball down or taking up a perfect position, but Raya is hardly needing to do much of that during this run. Raya obviously shouldn't get much credit for our 77% possession versus the Blades, nor for them being so disjointed Saliba completed more passes than their entire XI. That's the result of our brilliant high press, which as the pass charts are showing is on average a dreadnought X manoeuvring sixty yards from Raya's chilled out I.

Yes Raya is circulating the ball competently and has delivered some amazing sharp long throws this year, but the result of our overwhelming recent domination is that he's got less hard work to do in practice than any Arsenal keeper history has yet seen.

Right now Raya's Schrödinger's keeper. I'm not going to damn him as a dead cat before we even open the box. But being realistic, we will most need him to perform on the occasions to come when we face sustained pressure and a few actual shots on target. Based on the early season I've seen little evidence to suggest Raya stays serene when he's under the pump.

I'll be the first to praise the guy when he makes a save in a tight spot, but if there's a claim his skills are a main reason he barely has to make saves at all lately, well, that's silly.

goon

Big Willie

He was definitely flapping at a lot more, and if nothing else he looked panicked and uncomfortable at corners.

As for his passing, it was never a disaster, but as Tam says he was definitely uncomfortable and also very slow to make his mind up. In terms of actual errors there were not many, but it nearly cost us a few times.

Tam

There was definite unease in the early days. He looked very uncomfortable taking the ball to feet and looking for options. It was clear there was a lack of chemistry and understanding of where we should be in relation to each other. Teams were pressing hard and looking to take advantage of it and there were a few hairy moments, far more than would reasonably be expecting of a keeper and defence that is regarded as comfortable with the ball at feet.

I was quite critical of him at that point. Perhaps not necessarily him, but the need for him and the upset it caused to our stability whilst we had some other significant changes impacting the wider team and how we played. I felt it was too much too soon and still do feel it was an unnecessary gamble, but if we keep this form up and it's not just a purple patch then I'm willing to eat my words.

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