Just a day shy of the tenth anniversary of his National League debut, David Raya showed exactly why he’s now the main man in goal at Arsenal.

The Spanish goalkeeper pulled off a stunning double save to ensure a sloppy Arsenal came away with what could be a valuable point in the Champions League at last season’s Europa League winners, Atalanta.

On September 20, 2014, Raya was representing Southport in the National League, ten years on he’s defying logic with a stunning save for Arsenal in the Champions LeagueGetty

Atalanta forward Mateo Retegui, who already has four goals this season, stepped up to take a penalty early in the second half, only to be denied by the Gunners’ formidable force between the sticks.

Retegui didn’t catch his first strike particularly well as Raya saved low down to his right, but the ball fell kindly to the penalty taker who seemingly had the easy task of heading home the rebound.

He headed down and on target, but incredibly, Raya leapt up after an already impressive save to scoop away the rebound and away from danger.

Reacting to Raya’s save, Darren Bent said on commentary for talkSPORT: “It’s better than the Ollie Watkins one, because that one’s in the corner and it’s to the ground.

“He heads it low, Retegui, heads it into the ground, and David Raya springs up so quickly, and manages to tip it out, and not only does he tip it out, he doesn’t drop to it at the end of play, he tips it almost away from goal.

“That is an absolute, unbelievable double save. The penalty save was good, but for me the second save was probably, you won’t see a better save than that all season.

“The goal scoring touch eludes Retegui, but the goal saving touch of a Golden Glove winner from last season.

“David Raya, to plunge to his right to make the first save, well that was good, but to get up and then dive to the opposite side at a much tougher angle, to turn away the header from on the goal line.

“And the big celebration to Raya, almost as though he’s scored, and Arsenal‘s clean sheet remains intact.”

Eyebrows were raised when Mikel Arteta first brought Raya to Arsenal in the summer of 2023 with Aaron Ramsdale playing a big role in the team’s improvement over the previous two seasons.

Raya was unsurprisingly swamped by his teammates after the outstanding savesGetty

Arteta says it’s one of the best saves he’s ever seenGetty

But winning last season’s Golden Glove and a very impressive start to this term has seen Arteta’s tough decision get vindicated and then some.

The Arsenal boss isn’t lauding it over his doubters, but is marvelling at Raya’s brilliance.

Arteta told TNT Sports: “Without considering almost anything from the penalty, but on that moment you needed probably one of the best saves that I’ve seen in my career, both the penalty and the second action from David.

“He was unbelievable again today and we needed the other end, the two big chances that we had with Gabby to put them on the back of the net.

“This is Europe, very different games to the Premier League. Boxes become crucial and I know a lot of chances can be created, but yeah, a lot of positives, a lot of things are still for sure to improve.”

There’s no rest for the Gunners as their next outing sees them go to Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday.

And Arsenal may just need more heroics from reliable Raya to get a result at the Etihad Stadium.