Rio Ferdinand says Arsenal missed the ‘best goalkeeper in the world’ David Raya during their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
Arsenal No. 1 Raya was benched at Wembley on Sunday as Mikel Arteta continued to put his faith in cup goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The decision backfired, however, with Arrizabalaga making a poor mistake to gift Manchester City an opening goal in the 2-0 defeat.
Arteta defended his team selection after the game and insisted he did not regret picking Arrizabalaga ahead of Raya, who has been brilliant since joining Arsenal from Brentford.
But Ferdinand has criticised Arteta’s ‘sentimental’ decision and says Raya – who he rates as the ‘best goalkeeper in the world’ – could have swung the Carabao Cup final in Arsenal’s favour.
‘We can talk about Kepa’s mistake but those can happen in any game,’ Manchester United and England legend Ferdinand said on his podcast.
‘But more than anything he was the big issue in terms of Arsenal getting through the press.
‘I think right now David Raya is the best goalkeeper in world football and if he plays, his distribution would have been a big, big factor in that game.
‘He would have played over Man City’s press, he would have played through at times, he would have taken risks and would have been able to put an element of doubt into City’s press.
‘Giving an opposition that kind of mindset makes them less convinced sometimes and gives them less conviction when they’re trying to carry out Pep’s tactical approach.
‘Arsenal didn’t deal with that bit of pressure one bit.’
Discussing Arteta’s decision to start Arrizabalaga, Ferdinand added: ‘I think Mikel Arteta will look back and think he was too sentimental.
‘I know he’s played in the previous rounds but I don’t agree with it. Man City could afford to because they’ve won enough trophies recently but Arsenal are trying to build a winning culture.
‘This was a big moment, the first trophy on offer in the season and he’s let it slip through his fingers.
‘The mistake was bad but tactically it was obvious to see that David Raya would have been a mark-up because of his ability with his feet.
‘We can talk about how good Raya is at shot-stopping and claiming crosses but his bravery on the ball has been sensational this year and that would have altered Man City’s tactics.
‘Arsenal have been a confident back-four and Raya makes it a confident back-five. The frailties at the back given Kepa’s mistake and his inability to play out was glaring to see.’
Reacting to Arrizabalaga’s Wembley mistake and defending his decision after the defeat, Arteta said: ‘I made a decision before the game based on what he has done all season, the fact he has played in the competition and helped us be where we are today.
‘It would have been very unfair to choose a different one. I have to do what I feel is right, honest and fair.
‘I believe it’s the right thing to do and that’s it. Errors are part of football and today it happened unfortunately in a crucial moment.’