"Had a few sticky moments" - Ben White praises Arsenal summer signing despite poor start to life at club

Arsenal defender Ben White has acknowledged that on-loan goalkeeper David Raya hasn't had a smooth start to life at the Emirates.

The Spaniard arrived on a season-long loan from Brentford and immediately replaced regular custodian Aaron Ramsdale in Mikel Arteta's first XI. However, Raya's error-prone displays have led to calls for Ramsdale to return to the starting lineup.

Raya was particularly culpable in the Newcastle United and Chelsea games in October and for two goals Luton Town scored in their 4-3 loss to the Gunners. Nevertheless, the Spaniard has the support of White, who said (as per Mirror):

"David has such good qualities and that’s why he’s playing for Arsenal. The way he’s come in and had a few sticky moments but shown that he can come back from them and play so well. Some of the saves that he’s pulled off were unbelievable, so he’s done really well."

In 21 games across competitions, Raya has kept nine clean sheets, conceding 19 times. The Gunners are third in the Premier League after 21 games, five points off leaders Liverpool (48).

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Arsenal boss rules out January deals

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said that his club won't do any business to boost the squad in the ongoing January transfer window.

The Spanish manager admitted that the Gunners have one of the 'thinnest' squads but talked about the inability to improve the team this month in the way they wanted to.

As per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano (via TNT Sports), Arteta explained his team's lack of activity in January:

"It wasn't possible to do any January deals. We didn't have capacity to improve the team in the way that we think we want to improve. So we decided not to do something yet. We have one of the thinnest squads in the league, that's for sure."

The Gunners are alive in only two competitions, having exited both domestic cups. They take on Porto in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.