Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta avoids blame game after goalkeeper David Raya’s off night
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Arsenal's David Raya reacts after Luton Town's Ross Barkley scores their third goal, on Dec 5.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Mikel Arteta refused to play the blame game after David Raya’s errors almost cost Arsenal dearly in a thrilling 4-3 victory at Luton Town
The Spanish goalkeeper, who has replaced England’s Aaron Ramsdale between the posts since joining on loan from Brentford, was culpable as the home side scored twice in nine second-half minutes to take the lead.
He was caught out of position by a 49th-minute corner which allowed Elijah Adebayo to make it 2-2 and then dived over a Ross Barkley shot that put Luton in front.
Thankfully for him, Kai Havertz equalised and then Declan Rice scored the winner in the seventh minute of added time to seal the three points which meant that Arsenal remained top of the table.
“We have to defend better as a team. There are certain things leading to the goals and it’s not about blaming, we have never done it, and we’re not going to do it now,” Arteta said, when asked about Raya’s display.
“It’s about how the team reacts to that, because it’s going to happen, and I love that response.”
After a weekend of high-scoring encounters, the opening exchanges on a raw night at Kenilworth Road were uneventful, with no hint of the thriller that was to unfold.
But the game exploded into life on 20 minutes when some quick thinking from a throw-in ended with Gabriel Martinelli scuffing a shot inside the post from Bukayo Saka’s cut back.
Luton responded five minutes later, with Gabriel Osho powering a header past Raya from Alfie Doughty’s corner. Arsenal did go ahead again just before the break, with Gabriel Jesus heading in Ben White’s dinked cross.
The Gunners had not won at Luton since 1984 and they were rocked on their heels four minutes into the second half by Raya’s errors, as Adebayo headed in another Doughty corner before Barkley’s goal eight minutes later.
The old stadium was still reverberating from Barkley’s goal when Havertz equalised on the hour mark from Jesus’ pass.
Arsenal applied intense pressure but Luton appeared to have sealed a memorable point, until Martin Odegaard’s cross picked out Rice, who placed a perfect header past Thomas Kaminski.
Arteta was far keener to talk about the spirit of his side, who refused to accept dropped points.
“We don’t want a draw, we want to win. That energy, that emotion we put in the pitch, you can sense it,” he said.
“Today, we conceded some goals that we are going to be disappointed with but that’s part of it as well. It’s going to happen and how we react to that, it was great.”
The only blemish on a great night was news that Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was unable to play, faces an injury lay off. “We had a scan, and it’s not good news. He’s got an injury in his calf and he’s going to be out for a while,” Arteta added. REUTERS, AFP
