Arsenal was described as “optimistic” that goalkeeper David Raya will compete against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Raya was not involved when the Gunners defeated on Wednesday in the Champions League Girona and traveled to Spain with the squad, but were unexpectedly left out.
Mikel Areta made it clear shortly before the kick -off that the Spanish international was “not fit” and later repeated this explanation: “He could certainly not play, he was injured and that is.”
The Arsenal boss simply replied: “Let’s see how it works” when asked about the type of injury. But The athlete has reported that there is “no serious concerns” that Raya is out for a long time for a long time, which increases the opportunity to return to action in good time.
The backup goalkeeper Neto stood for Raya against Girona. The 16-year-old academy talent Jack Porter was transported to the bench to compensate for the numbers in the matchday squad.
The 35-year-old Neto, who was borrowed from Bournemouth as a replacement for Aaron Ramsdale, has been the oldest debutant in Arsenal for more than a century since 36-year-old Ned Liddell.
But it was a shaky start for the experienced Brazilian. He experienced a nervous moment on the ball in the early phase before he was stranded bizarre 30 meters in front of the goal when Girona took a surprise lead by ex-Tottenham Hotspur loan player Arnaut Danjuma.
Even if Raya cannot return to Manchester City immediately, a game that has potential to set nine points between himself and the defending champions, Areta insists that he is satisfied with Neto’s ability to represent.
“That’s why he is here to do this job and he did it in his career for 20 years,” said the boss.
“I’m very happy, first of all, that he played [against Girona]. It was seven months ago since he played his last game and it’s not easy. So [I’m] Very happy that he played and we won the game. “