Aston Villa were beaten by Arsenal

Aston Villa insider stunned after what Arsenal star did - 'I couldn't believe it'

Senior Scouting Consultant AUTHORITY Former Senior Scout for Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, and Aston Villa; Scandinavian and European talent specialist who discovered Erling Haaland. FOCUS Global recruitment networks, player market valuation, and continental talent acquisition. THE AUDIT Bryan utilises Statscore’s Advanced Scouting Telemetry, including Deep-Data Metrics like Market Value Volatility, Continental Transition Adaptability, and Under-the-Radar Tactical Efficiency. He provides elite-level player profiling to reveal the technical reality behind recruitment that mainstream data ignores.

Published on:

25 Aug 2024, 2:40 am

Bryan King was left stunned after David Raya denied Ollie Watkins with a point-blank save as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 2-0 on Saturday (24 August).

The ex-Villa scout couldn't believe that the Arsenal shot-stopper managed to get a hand to Watkins' headed effort.

Watkins looked certain to score midway through the second half as the ball crashed off the crossbar and into his path, but Raya was up quickly and managed to prevent the striker from scoring.

And King - speaking exclusively to Villa News - feels that not many goalkeepers would have made that save.

"It was a very good game, there were chances at both ends," King said.

"There was some excellent football and excellent goalkeeping too. I think we have to give a lot of credit to Raya for his save against Watkins.

"A lot of goalkeepers would have given up, but he was up so fast and made a great one-handed save. I couldn't believe it, and I don't think the Villa bench or Watkins could either.

"When Raya pulled that save off Watkins would have probably been thinking it just isn't my day today."

Aston Villa beaten by Arsenal as David Raya denies Ollie Watkins

It wasn't to be for Watkins against the Gunners with the England international missing two point-blank opportunities at Villa Park.

Unai Emery will no doubt be frustrated to lose the first home game of the season, especially after Villa managed to do the double over his former side last year.

However, the Villa boss must keep things in perspective. Villa played well and matched Arsenal throughout the contest.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery

Had Watkins buried one of his chances when the match was still 0-0 things could have been very different.

Therefore, despite the defeat, the Villa players should still be full of confidence ahead of their trip to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City on Saturday 31 August.

In other Aston Villa news, one Premier League player is interested in a last-minute transfer to the club after an exit update.

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Aston Villa

Ollie Watkins

Unai Emery