Arteta: 'My heart nearly stopped when Raya saved Arsenal'

Coach Mikel Arteta discussed the instance when goalkeeper Raya came to Arsenal's rescue late in the game versus Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta stated his heart almost stopped before David Raya helped Arsenal stay in the title race with a brilliant late save, preventing the 10-man Chelsea from scoring an equalizer at the Emirates.

Raya was outstanding in the crucial 2-1 victory, making a series of superb saves in a tense match. The Spanish goalkeeper stayed alert when a cross from Alejandro Garnacho threatened to find the near post late on. He pushed the ball away, ensuring the goals from William Saliba and Jurriën Timber allowed Arsenal to re-establish a five-point lead over Manchester City in the Premier League table.

“David Raya is one of our leaders and he is a goalkeeper who knows how to maintain focus and influence the game when needed,” Arteta said. “Sometimes he isn't involved in any action, then in a crucial moment, he has to be there right on time, and that is very difficult to do.”

“That last save, it was a cross that wasn't a shot, but it ended up being an unbelievable shot. My heart almost stopped, but David's hand was there just in time to save the situation.”

Arteta mentioned Declan Rice could be absent for the trip to Brighton and felt Arsenal lost control in the final phase of the match. He said: "We will certainly discuss this tomorrow because we must improve it."

This promises to be a tense final stretch of the season for Arsenal, who have played one more game than Man City. “I will try to stay calm,” Arteta said. “When you see other teams winning, everyone feels the pressure. The gap between teams is very small, so that's good.”

Chelsea, who have fallen out of the top five, conceded from two corners and could not recover after Pedro Neto received two yellow cards within four minutes in the second half. They have received a total of nine red cards across all competitions this season and Liam Rosenior wants to identify the root cause of the disciplinary issues within the team.