Quote Originally Posted by pjlincs View Post
From The Guardian:

VAR furore takes heat off Raya
Picking through the wreckage of Arteta’s attack on VAR, it is worth remembering none of his anger would have been required had David Raya simply claimed Joe Willock’s cross. Arteta’s call to drop Aaron Ramsdale in favour of Raya was invariably going to invite pressure, and with every game it is hard to shake the notion that he has manifested a problem that did not need solving. Newcastle made life difficult for Raya from the off, Callum Wilson hounding the goalkeeper inside the first minute. Of the three VAR checks that followed Gordon’s contentious winner, perhaps the most surprising verdict was Joelinton being cleared for his push on Gabriel Magalhães. Regardless, while Arteta rails at Premier League officials, his own decision-making should also face scrutiny.
Raya has some parallels with Havertz. Both, so far , failing to deliver on Arteta’s upgrade plan.
One at the expense of a fans favourite, the other at the expense of £65m.
I also agree with Peter that we’re probably stuck with both for sometime.
A knee jerk reaction would seriously devalue Arteta’s credibility at this stage, with Havertz there’s some margin for tinkering given the squad alternatives. Raya, however, is a binary choice.