The game was packed full of talking points, with the biggest one coming in the 64th minute. The former Arsenal man Joe Willock picked up the ball after a wayward cross from Jacob Murphy. He crossed in a ball to the back post which was knocked down by Joelinton and fired into an open net by Anthony Gordon.
VAR was called in to look at three moments leading to the goal, the first to check if Willock had managed to keep the ball in play. Then a possible foul on Gabriel by Joelinton as he won the header, and then finally a possible offside prior to the close-range strike from Gordon.
All three incidents were checked and dismissed by VAR and the goal was allowed to stand. Raya caught up with Arsenal.com after the encounter and gave his opinion on the goal:
“What I could see was the ball went out of play, and then after going to the dressing room, looking back at the goal, it’s a big foul on Gabi. He’s pushing him with two hands on his back when he’s about to clear the ball”.
“On the other hand, it could have been an offside position, that’s harder to see. But the ball out of play and the foul is a massive decision that’s just going to cost us some points”.
Raya on the positive team performance, but the disappointment in losing the game:
“We’re really frustrated. The way we played, the way we competed, it was brilliant from everybody. We did what the gaffer asked us to do; win duels and get the ball up the pitch and everything, but decisions have taken a goal.
“We defended very well. I don’t think they had a shot on target, we kept them very quiet, we defended very well, and I thought we played very well. We got into really good positions, we were positive, we were winning duels, we were competing against one of the teams in the division, especially away from home – it’s a tough place to come. So, we are very happy with the performance but very frustrated with the result.”
It caps of a disappointing week for The Gunners after being knocked out the Carabao Cup by West Ham on Wednesday, and now their unbeaten start to the Premier League also coming to an end.
Arsenal have the opportunity to bounce back at the Emirates against Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
On the need to start winning games again and the opportunity to do this against Sevilla at the Emirates:
“We’re going to have to start winning games again, and hopefully, we can go on a longer unbeaten run in the Premier League,” he said. “Now our focus is Sevilla on Wednesday at home, that’s another massive game for us. All we can say, is we want the three points.
“We are very excited to be back at home at the Emirates with our fans behind us, and to try to get the three points on Wednesday will be massive for us. It’s a very important game.”