He's the best in the world — Ferdinand makes Arsenal star claim after Carabao Cup defeat

Rio Ferdinand has labeled Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya as the "best in the world," arguing that Mikel Arteta's decision to bench him for the Carabao Cup final was a costly error.

Arteta opted to start Kepa Arrizabalaga at Wembley, continuing his policy of using the Spaniard as his designated cup goalkeeper.

However, the decision came under scrutiny after Arrizabalaga made a significant error that led to Manchester City's opening goal in a 2-0 defeat for the Gunners.

While Arteta stood by his selection post-match, insisting he had no regrets, Ferdinand criticized the manager's "sentimental" approach. The former England defender believes Raya's presence could have decisively altered the outcome of the match.

"We can talk about Kepa’s mistake, but those can happen in any game," Ferdinand stated on his podcast.

"But more than anything, he was the big issue in terms of Arsenal getting through the press."

Ferdinand elaborated on Raya's unique abilities, particularly his distribution under pressure, which he feels were sorely missed against Pep Guardiola's side.

"I think right now David Raya is the best goalkeeper in world football, and if he plays, his distribution would have been a big, big factor in that game," he explained.

Ferdinand suggested that Arteta will rue his loyalty to Arrizabalaga, who was never able to play out of City's press.

"He would have played over Man City’s press, he would have played through at times, he would have taken risks and would have been able to put an element of doubt into City’s press."

He added, "Arsenal didn’t deal with that bit of pressure one bit."