2nd Arsenal star wins Player of the Matchweek award

Following Martin Odegaard’s success last week, David Raya has been named the Premier League’s Player of the Matchweek for his performance for Arsenal against Sunderland at the weekend.

Raya made what was probably the save of the weekend to deny Enzo Le Fee from the penalty spot, and he backed up that save with his usual strengths in making high claims and distributing the ball effectively.

The Premier League highlight the goalkeeper’s “outstanding penalty save”, “calming presence”, and “brilliant distribution” against Sunderland, revealing that Raya received 26% of the popular vote. That saw him edge out Hull City’s Mohamed Belloumi, who received 23%.

Raya was also named in Alan Shearer’s Premier League Team of the Week, with the former Newcastle United striker also picking Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa for his team.

The Arsenal goalkeeper missed out on the BBC and WhoScored Teams of the Week, but the fans clearly didn’t agree with Troy Deeney or the stats guys on this occasion.

As mentioned, Odegaard won the Player of the Matchweek poll last week, earning 31% of the vote for his starring role against Chelsea.

Raya last won the Player of the Matchweek award back in May, when Arsenal kept a clean sheet away to West Ham to put the Gunners on the verge of the Premier League title.

That vote made him the first goalkeeper of the season to win the award, and the same is true again in 2026/27.