Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has been awarded the Premier League Save of the Month for August 2024, recognizing his incredible reflexes in a key moment during Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa.
Raya pulled off a stunning save to deny Ollie Watkins from scoring after a chaotic sequence that saw the ball hit the crossbar from a deflected shot by Amadou Onana.
Despite being on the ground and behind his goalline, Raya managed to recover quickly and made a spectacular diving save to his left, preventing Watkins’ header from crossing the line.
The save came at a crucial point with the game still at 0-0, and Arsenal ultimately went on to secure victory.
Reflecting on the moment, Raya acknowledged that while it was a quick reaction save, he didn’t consider it his best, citing training drills that helped him react in such situations.
This award marks Raya’s first Premier League monthly honor and makes him the first Arsenal goalkeeper to win it since Aaron Ramsdale did in April 2023 for a save against Mohamed Salah.
Raya’s heroic save was chosen from a shortlist of six, and he was notably nominated twice, with another stop against Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Jorgen Strand Larsen also being considered.
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