How David Raya produced incredible double save in Arsenal's draw with Atalanta

"He's a cat!" Gian Piero Gasperini accused post-match, having seen his Atalanta side frustratingly held to a stalemate in their Champions League opener on Thursday night.

Feline comparisons aren't your usual soundbites in the footballing world, but Gasperini's was more than just on this occasion.

David Raya's heroics ensured Arsenal walked away from the Gewiss Stadium with a point as the Gunners huffed and puffed their way through Thursday's contest opting against showing any real quality in possession.

Outside of the penalty sequence, both teams found it incredibly difficult to work high-quality openings. Arsenal were incessant on avoiding Atalanta's high pressure, deciding to punt the ball long to Kai Havertz relentlessly, but their ploy was ultimately unsuccessful. It was a dire watch. A good result, but a dire watch. The one moment they did produce was spurned hopelessly by the out-of sorts Gabriel Martinelli.

David Raya explains incredible double save which saved Arsenal against Atalanta

The slow-turning Thomas Partey was seemingly conspiring against his own team on Thursday night as he produced a hapless display topped off by a clumsy penalty giveaway at the start of the second-half.

Partey was completely outfoxed by the younger, spritelier Ederson, with the Ghanaian surely thinking, as the Brazilian rounded him in the Arsenal box, back to more glorious times during his apex. His initial pull on Ederson wasn't worthy of a spot-kick, but the clipping of the midfielder's heels certainly was.

Clement Turpin pointed to the spot, and following an unnecessarily lengthy VAR review, the penalty was confirmed.

That delay certainly worked to Raya's advantage as taker Mario Reteugui anxiously clutched onto the ball. While the review was ongoing, Raya raced to the sidelines to receive information on the taker. 'Dive right' was presumptively the instruction from goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana.

Retegui's penalty was comfortably saved by Raya, but the Spaniard's denial allowed the Atalanta striker a second bite of the cherry. With an open goal gaping, all Retegui had to do was head into an empty net. He did just that before Raya's claw of a left hand prevented the effort from going over the line. It was David Seaman-esque, and further indication of how much the Spaniard has come on at the start of his second season in north London.

"I was lucky to go the right way. I was lucky to get the rebound," Raya humbly said to TNT Sports post-match, while Mikel Arteta, more bullishly, listed the rebound save as one of the best he's ever seen.

Going into further detail on the events leading up to the outstanding sequence, Raya added: "It was long time to decide it was a pen or no, so I just went to speak to the goalie coach [Inaki] to get more sense in way where to go and where not to go.

"He helped me a lot in every aspect so credit to him as well. It's great to have him on our side."

Ultimately, it was Arsenal's goalkeeper who ensured the Gunners started their Champions League campaign with a result. The visitors produced a performance that certainly didn't warrant three points, but they've escaped Bergamo with a more than respectable draw.

The new format means the initial phase is a slog, and there's going to be plenty of opportunites for Arsenal to accumulate victories further down the line.

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