Arsenal pair win their Nations League group | OneFootball

Arsenal duo David Raya and Mikel Merino both made starts as Spain defeated Denmark to win their Nations League group on Friday.

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Arsenal pair David Raya and Mikel Merino both made the starting lineup for Spain against Denmark on Friday, knowing that a win would ensure both qualification for the Nations League knockout stages and top spot in the group.

Merino was involved in Spain’s opening goal, though he didn’t officially register a goal or assist. The Arsenal midfielder drew in defenders on the edge of the box by feinting to shoot before laying the ball off to Ayoze Perez, who found Mikel Oyarzabal to finish for 1-0 in the 15th minute.

Perez then scored one of his own for 2-0 in the 58th minute, and that’s how the scores remained until Merino came off with 10 minutes left.

But there was still time for a late scare, as a mix-up at the back gifted Denmark a way back into the game.

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Fabian Ruiz played a blind pass back to Raya, but the midfielder failed to spot Gustav Isaksen running in behind to try and make an interception.

Though Raya did get to the ball first, there wasn’t much he could do to stop the ball rebounding off Isaksen and into the net for 2-1.

Officially, some stats websites recorded the goal as a Raya error, but that’s certainly a harsh assessment. The reality is that Raya was trying to cover for Ruiz’s mistake. You can watch the incident in the UEFA highlights here.

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With Spain winning the game, they’ve now secured top spot in their Nations League group and a place in the quarter-finals. Monday’s game against Switzerland becomes a bit of a training exercise, with the visitors already relegated.

Perhaps that will mean rests for Merino and Raya, though Raya will be keen to get one more game before Unai Simon likely returns from injury in March.

Raya has made five appearances in Simon’s absence, keeping three clean sheets and conceding just two goals.