David Raya explains how he made stunning save to deny Ollie Watkins | OneFootball

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya insisted 'hard work has paid off' after coming up with a huge save to keep out Ollie Watkins in Saturday's win at Aston Villa.

The Gunners ran out 2-0 winners at Villa Park and had to dig in deep in order to leave the West Midlands with all three points.

Mikel Arteta's side were under the cosh during the second half. Before Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey scored the crucial Arsenal goals, Raya had to produce what will undoubtedly go down as one of the saves of the season.

Amadou Onana saw a deflected shot bounce off the crossbar. Raya, after diving backwards to try and save Onana's effort, had to quickly get back to his feet in order to spring across his line and keep out the rebound from former Brentford teammate Watkins.

Speaking to the press post-match, Raya detailed his thought process which contributed to making the iconic save.

"It's one of those where you don't know how you did it. It's a fantastic save," Raya said.

"I was on the floor and saw the rebound coming to Ollie, so I tried to get up as quickly as possible.

"It's sweet to say all the hard work has paid off. It's a crucial moment. They had their chances and I was there to save Ollie's header.

"Everyone is a hero. We work together, it's not just me saving. It's Leo and Thomas scoring. You have to fight and dig deep and we did."

Raya won last season's Premier League Golden Glove after keeping 16 clean sheets and already has two shutouts chalked up this term following Saturday's win at Villa and last week's 2-0 victory at home to Wolves.

Arsenal return to action next Saturday when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion.