“He had fewer touches then the goalkeeper and lost 70% of fuel against Chelsea”- Arsenal Legend Patrick Vierra angrily blasts Arsenal player after his woeful performance that almost made Arsenal lost their first match of the season yesterday

Arsenal: Gunners dud with fewer touches than Raya was Arteta’s villain v Chelsea

The Gunners were forced to play with a passenger against Chelsea…

Arsenal fought well to retain their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign yesterday, but will feel disappointed to be held against rivals Chelsea.

However, whilst the rivalry remains bitter and long-running, the clash was instead overshadowed by a host of goalkeeping mistakes, kickstarted by David Raya.

How did David Raya play vs Chelsea?

As Aaron Ramsdale’s absence from the squad offered the Spaniard complete control and ease over his number-one spot, whilst the England international was expecting the birth of his child, it was far from a freeing performance.

The on-loan Brentford man has slowly ushered himself into a position of control in this well-documented goalkeeping battle, having started the last five league matches and both of their Champions League games. However, his stranglehold will certainly have loosened after last night’s showing.

Posting a 74% pass accuracy and enjoying 57 touches, it was a typically efficient display with the ball at his feet, although he did endure one scare with an error that led directly to a shot.

However, the true blunder came as Mykhailo Mudryk sought to whip in a left-footed delivery from the byline, looping his cross goalbound rather than into the box as Raya had expected.

Woefully out of position, the 28-year-old could only scramble as the ball ended up in the back of his net, doubling the hosts’ advantage.

And yet, despite a disappointing display for the shot-stopper, it could be argued that Gabriel Jesus’ afternoon was worse.

How did Gabriel Jesus play vs Chelsea?

Despite enjoying 57% of the ball, bossing it as usual, it was far from a dominant display with regard to chances forged and defensive solidity.

Much of that profligacy, and lack of a link between midfield and defence, can be attributed to the off day their Brazilian marksman endured.

His anonymity is best outlined through his 25 touches of the ball, of which even Raya enjoyed more. This unsurprisingly fed into the rest of his display, failing in both of his attempted dribbles, losing 70% of his duels and only completing a miserable ten passes, via Sofascore.

Defensively inept and offensively blunt, for a man who has just one league goal after seven appearances, such disappointment is frustratingly becoming more and more commonplace, which will worry Mikel Arteta.

He is heavily reliant on the former Manchester City man, with his fitness last season helping propel their title charge until injury struck. As such, despite calls to reinvest some of his huge funds over the summer in a new centre forward, the Spaniard declined.

The tactician will now be hoping for some return on this show of faith, with journalist Simon Collings offering a scathing summation in his post-match player ratings, writing for The Standard: “Took one shot that almost went out for a throw-in during the first-half. Summed up his, and Arsenal’s, performance”.

Although many might rush to point fingers at Raya as the villain, with his gaffes far more high-profile, it was actually Jesus who was the true foe for Arteta, with his underperformance vital in a poor showing from the team.