‘Incredible’: Gary Neville left amazed by 28-year-old Arsenal player during first-half vs Spurs

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Gary Neville has lauded David Raya after the remarkable save which denied Brennan Johnson during the first-half of the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Neville was speaking on Super Sunday (broadcast on 24/9; 14:38) after Raya left the entire Emirates gasping after producing an amazing save to keep the Welshman at bay.

It was no surprise to see David Raya keep his place in the Arsenal team after starting their previous two games leading into the derby.

Raya had not been hugely tested against either Everton or PSV Eindhoven. So it was always going to be intriguing to see how he got on against Tottenham.

Neville lauds Raya for stunning save

Of course, he was unable to keep a clean sheet. But he did manage to produce one moment of sheer magic towards the end of the first-half as Tottenham grew into the contest.

Son Heung-min set up Brennan Johnson some eight yards from goal. The Wales international did not manage to make the best contact with the ball, but his strike still appeared to be destined for the back of the net.

Somehow however, Raya was able to scamper across his line and paw the ball away from his goal. It was a moment which saw Arsenal fans celebrate as if they had scored themselves.

And there was an audible gasp from the fans when replays of the save were shown on the big screen. Certainly, Neville was amazed by the stop from the Brentford loanee.

“What a save. It’s an incredible save. At first look in real time, you think it’s in,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s the first time really they’ve punched through the lines. It’s a brilliant run from Son and you think it’s past Raya and he shifts his feet so quickly. That’s the best part. He doesn’t really get hold of it perfectly, Johnson. But still, brilliant piece of work from the goalkeeper.”

Raya could have done little about the two goals he did concede. Tottenham were excellent at times when they got forward. And they punished Jorginho for a dreadful mistake immediately after Arsenal had retaken the lead.

The Spaniard is certainly doing all he can to justify the controversial decision to pick him ahead of Aaron Ramsdale following the international break.

Raya obviously is someone who has proven himself in the Premier League. So it is not entirely surprising that he is able to step up on the bigger stage.

But he certainly did enough to ensure that he should keep his place for the time-being.

Having said that, predicting what Mikel Arteta is going to do next with his goalkeepers is unlikely to be easy.