But for Raya saving Mateo Retegui’s 51st-minute penalty and then somehow springing across his goal to claw out the same player’s headed rebound effort, Arsenal could have begun their group games with a damaging defeat.
“Two of the best saves I’ve ever seen in my career from David,” Arteta said.
“If you can’t win, you have to take the point. We started well, then we lost control and were very inconsistent. We didn’t suffer defensively, apart from the penalty.”
Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini was equally in awe. “He’s a cat. The first save is good but the rebound is unbelievable. The goalkeeper has been crucial,” the Italian coach said.
While it was a solid start by Arsenal, Arteta was less happy with the performance.
“We had moments with the ball but we never got it into dominance or threat,” he said.
“The first 25 minutes we were good. After that, we lost control.”
