David Raya statistic adds to Arsenal’s defensive misery against Brighton

Arsenal’s defensive problems deepened against Brighton on Saturday as they conceded three goals in the opening 57 minutes of their Premier League fifth-round fixture.

Brighton took control before half-time, with Pascal Gross opening the scoring in the 31st minute before Greece international Charalampos Kostoulas doubled the advantage in the 45th minute. Spain’s Shima Andres then added a third goal seven minutes after the restart.

The result continued a poor defensive display from Arsenal, with the Gunners’ back line unable to prevent Brighton from scoring twice from outside the penalty area during the first half.

The goals also contributed to an unwanted statistic for Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. Opta reported that Raya has become the goalkeeper with the second-highest proportion of Premier League goals conceded from outside the box among those to have let in at least 100 goals in the competition’s history.

“Among goalkeepers that have conceded 100+ goals in the Premier League, only Hans Segers (22% – 36/164) has conceded a higher proportion from outside the penalty area than David Raya (20.6% – 33/160),” Opta said.

Raya had conceded two goals from long-range efforts by half-time, taking his total to 33 goals from outside the penalty area out of the 160 he has allowed in the Premier League. That represents 20.6% of his total.

Only former Nottingham Forest, Wimbledon and Tottenham goalkeeper Hans Segers has a higher percentage. The Dutchman conceded 36 goals from outside the box from 164 Premier League goals conceded, a rate of 22%.

The statistic highlights the scale of Arsenal’s defensive difficulties against Brighton, with the visitors punished by long-range finishing before conceding again shortly after the interval.