“Only good thing from this match”, “Made me smile” - Arsenal fans in love with hilarious moment involving 29-year-old star during 1-0 loss to West Ham

Arsenal fans were left in stitches after goalkeeper David Raya outpaced James Ward-Prowse to recover the ball during their Premier League clash against West Ham on Saturday. Despite the 1-0 loss to their London rivals at the Emirates, the Gunners faithful found the incident hilarious.

Mikel Arteta’s men had an opportunity to reduce Liverpool's lead to five points at the top of the Premier League after the Reds dropped points in midweek against Aston Villa. As expected, Arsenal started the game by dictating proceedings, but couldn't create clear-cut chances.

West Ham pulled a shocker on the stroke of halftime as they took an unexpected lead. Aaron Wan-Bissaka made a long dribble down the right and then swung in an inch-perfect cross, which was expertly headed home by Jarrod Bowen.

Arsenal huffed and puffed for an equalizer in the second half, but all their efforts failed. Myles Lewis-Skelly was shown a straight red card in the 73rd minute for denying Mohammed Kudus a goal-scoring opportunity.

In the eighth minute of stoppage time, the Gunners committed bodies forward in search of a last-ditch equalizer after winning a corner kick. Goalkeeper David Raya went up for the corner and the Gunners looked to be in trouble when the Hammers recovered possession.

However, the Spanish shot-stopper made an incredible recovery as he sprinted from the box all the way to the halfway line to deny a West Ham counterattack.

Fans found the incident hilarious and took to X to react to the incredible recovery. Here are some of the reactions below:

''That David Raya pace vs Ward Prowse and the skill afterwards is the only good thing from this match'' an X user wrote.

Another tweeted:

''The only thing that’s made me smile today is David Raya’s sprinting style. Forrest Gump-esque.''

''David Raya can run faster than Sterling and Trossard'' @TikiTakaConnor quipped

''Stick David Raya on the right wing.'' @now_arsenaI demanded

''David Raya showed so much speed and composure there, and skill, that we might have to put that man at fullback'' @_Zeets opined

''David Raya outpacing James Ward-Prowse is our only highlight of this match. Times are hard.'' @APresserV2 wrote

''Ward Prowse getting outsprinted by David Raya is the only thing that has made me vaguely smile this afternoon...'' @laythy29 quipped

''This won't be the main takeaway from the match but David Raya has just burned up James Ward-Prowse in a 30-yard sprint and beaten him with a flick.'' @SamJDean wrote'

''It’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves'' – Arsenal star says they are ‘disappointed’ after shocking 1-0 loss to West Ham

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard expressed his displeasure at his side’s 1-0 loss to West Ham at the Emirates Stadium. Despite controlling possession for almost the entire game, the Gunners managed only two shots on target as Graham Potter’s men took all three points.

During the post-match press conference, Odegaard was critical of his side’s performance but insisted that there are still many games to be played. The Norwegian midfielder said (via the club’s website):

"We’re really disappointed. It felt like we had a good chance today but the overall performance wasn’t good enough and that’s a big blow for everyone. We tried even with 10 men, we put a lot of pressure on them, but I think we lacked a bit of efficiency in the final third, the final pass, the final cross and we should have been sharper and better around the box."

"I think that’s what we missed today and also, we let them run a bit too easily a few times, so it’s a big blow and disappointing. We move on and we have to strike back in the next one straight away. It’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to keep going. There are still many games to be played, and we have to keep going. The main thing now is to win the next one and work from there."