Raya made an "outstanding" save to deny Olympiacos' Daniel Podence in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night in what was a huge sigh of relief for Arsenal who cruised to a 2-0 victory in the end.
“I think he’s a brilliant goalkeeper. This is one of the best pieces of business Arsenal have done. A real upgrade that from Ramsdale,” Carragher said on CBS Sports.
“David Raya, for me, it’s between him and Alisson in the Premier League who’s the best goalkeeper, and he’s certainly one of the best goalkeepers in the world. That’s why they keep so many clean sheets.”
Manager Mikel Arteta spoke about the game and reflected on Raya’s save which kept the Greek side from mounting a comeback against his side.
“I think we started the game very, very good. Scored the goal, had some big chances but in the Champions League you have to put them away. After we began to a suffer a bit, the game became a little bit open.
“We needed a big save from David in one action to keep the clean sheet. But overall, after playing just three days ago, and the way we had to play at Newcastle, credit to the boys for the way we performed.”
Interestingly, Carragher has changed his mind on Raya who he claimed was shaky when they signed him in 2023.
“It wasn’t a mistake as such to replace Aaron Ramsdale, as Ramsdale wasn’t going to win you the league.
“But the guy (Raya) he’s chosen right now to come in is absolutely all over the place. I think bringing in Declan Rice has improved them, but they’ve not moved the dial with the goalkeeper.”