Arsenal Keeper David Raya Just Gave a Masterclass on How to Save a Penalty

A significant number of players these days either shoot their penalties down the middle with the assumption that the keeper is going to dive one way or another; or do a stutter step waiting for the keeper to commit before rolling it into the other corner.

As Raya showed, the solution is DON’T DIVE.

Now I know what goalkeepers are thinking. “Won’t I look silly standing still as the ball flies in the corner?"

You know what looks silly? When you dive a full second before they’ve kicked the ball allowing the penalty taker to look up and cooly roll the ball into the opposite corner. 

 And yes, Onana, I’m looking at you - though you are far from the only one. 

If you dive, you have to guess which side to launch your body and guess the height, so even if you guess right the odds are against you saving it. 

If you stand your ground you are almost guaranteed to save anything down the middle, especially the famed Panenka.

And if you stand tall you still might have time to adjust your body to reach weak penalties placed to the side. And these days penalty takers go down the middle or try and wait for you to commit a large percentage of the time.

I’m not saying do it every time. That would make you exploitable. But at least recognize that players go down the middle or stutter step at least 30% of the time, so you should stand up at least 30% of the time. As Raya proved yesterday.

Related: David Raya vs Alisson Becker