Ball speed and momentum are vital for Arsenal and a growing theme in David Raya’s play provides them with exactly that: quick distribution.
Their opening goal against Liverpool came from quick, snappy passing, but Raya’s out-of-hand distribution helped set the tone and is becoming more influential.
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One of the Spaniard’s first big moments at Arsenal came against Manchester City when he was tasked with keeping the ball for as long as possible before looking for a pass. It created tension for those watching, but he persevered. “I’m the free man and once a striker or someone jumps me, that leaves a free man on the pitch and we have to look for superiority,” Raya explained to The Athletic in October. “That’s the way the coach tells me to play.”
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It was only three weeks later, in the 5-0 win over Sheffield United, that he started to release the ball more quickly. Minutes into that game, Raya claimed a cross and volleyed into space for Gabriel Martinelli to chase on the left wing and get Arsenal up the pitch. The Spain international did the exact same thing 15 minutes later. That time, Martinelli motored up the left wing and into the penalty area, but his pass was fluffed by Bukayo Saka.
An almost identical move put Arsenal in gear against Liverpool, even if it did not result in a goal.
Although Arsenal did not capitalise on this specific opportunity, they have had more success recently.
In the defeat to Fulham on December 31, Saka’s opener came from a quick Raya roll into Kai Havertz. The German needed just one touch to set Martinelli free on the left and his shot was parried into Saka’s path to finish.
In last month’s 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace, Gabriel Jesus latched onto Raya’s quick bowl up to the halfway line and did well to find Leandro Trossard for the third goal of the game.
Both goals required just two passes. Saka’s took 14 seconds to hit the net from the time the ball left Raya’s gloves and Trossard’s took 10 seconds. Raya also kickstarted a fast break 10 minutes earlier against Crystal Palace as he volleyed up to Havertz. The German held onto the ball and slid it in behind for Jesus, who found Trossard in the box, but the Belgium international scuffed his finish.
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Arsenal are fairly average for the number of fast breaks they have made throughout this season, ranking 10th across the Premier League with 17. That is easily explained by the increase in deep blocks they face. Even so, they are ranked third in the league for goals from fast breaks (five), behind West Ham (six) and Nottingham Forest (seven).
But something has shifted in recent weeks. Over the past 10 games, Arsenal are joint-fourth for total fast breaks (11) and first for goals from fast breaks (four). That is four times as many goals via this route in 10 matches as they managed in the previous 13.
Not all of these would have started with Raya’s distribution and Arsenal are not a counter-attacking team, but those numbers should serve as a reminder of how important variation is — as should Raya’s distribution as a whole against Liverpool.
While his first throw was quick and long, that was not Raya’s only plan of attack. Both he and Gabriel took short goal kicks to draw Liverpool onto them, as was the case against Manchester City. Below is an example of how Raya, Declan Rice and Jorginho fashioned a numerical advantage to play through Liverpool’s press.
The Spaniard then started going long later in the first half and continued to do so after the break. There were instances when Havertz did well to provide Arsenal with a platform up front, but the midfield was also well positioned for the second ball when he failed to win it, as seen below.
The development of Raya’s distribution has been somewhat similar but not identical to Aaron Ramsdale’s during his first two years at Arsenal. The England international tended to play shorter in his first season at the club but mixed things up in his second year by going longer more often. The benefit was that he could find his forwards directly (like he did for Reiss Nelson against Liverpool in the FA Cup) or Arsenal’s midfield could set themselves up to win the second ball and have a strong starting position.
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Raya’s quick throws and volleys are more geared to finding wide attackers quickly and directly. Ramsdale was also capable of this, but with Raya appearing to settle in goal, it is providing another important edge to their game.
Raya joked about claiming a pre-assist when speaking about his involvement in Trossard’s goal against Crystal Palace last month.
“With the players we have, fast counter-attacks are really important,” he said. “There have been a few times when we’ve countered from the goalkeeper, so it was nice to score one. It was a good break point because we were under a little bit of pressure and if they scored one goal, it would have been 2-1. It would have been a different game. Scoring that goal, no matter how, was really important.”
Arsenal need to pursue every opportunity to gain an advantage given how tight the title race is shaping up to be. They do not leak chances but have not been scoring consistently enough to make sure goals that come from mistakes are not undermining their good work. The upcoming weeks will prove whether or not the Liverpool win was a watershed moment for their attack, but Raya’s quick distributions could be a very useful ingredient going forward.
(Top photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
