Mikel Arteta lauded David Raya as a leader at Arsenal, as he claimed his "heart almost stopped" when the goalkeeper pulled off a save late on against Chelsea.

Arsenal saw off Chelsea 2-1 in a cagey contest at Emirates Stadium, where all three goals came from corner kicks.

Jurrien Timber grabbed Arsenal's winner, heading home from Declan Rice's delivery, before Pedro Neto saw red for picking up two bookings in the space of three minutes.

However, Raya, who had earlier made a brilliant save to frustrate Jorrel Hato, was required to make smart stops late on, as he palmed wide from Alejandro Garnacho's teasing cross before spectacularly denying Joao Pedro, though the latter was in an offside position.

"David is one of our leaders without a doubt," Arteta said.

"He is a goalkeeper who knows how to maintain his focus and decide a match when you need it.

"Sometimes he doesn't participate at all and then suddenly he has to act and the save he made in the last action – it was an unbelievable shot and my heart almost stopped, but he kept it out again.

"It was a fabulous save, but we shouldn't have been in that position. I try to stay calm, but we weren't getting the dominance we wanted against ten men.

"Everyone is suffering and the margins are so tight, but it's good. In March, we are in every competition and we are right up there."

Raya leads the Premier League this season for clean sheets among goalkeepers, with 13. 

That matches the number of shutouts he kept last season, when he shared the Golden Glove with Matz Sels, while he also won that award in his first season at Arsenal in 2023-24, keeping 16 clean sheets.

Interestingly, Raya actually ranks low for goals prevented this season, with -2.4, suggesting he has conceded over two goals more than would have been expected based on the quality of shots he has faced in the league.

But his save helped Arsenal on their way to a second straight league win, as they restored their five-point gap at the top.

"The way we have reacted to that disappointing result [2-2 draw with Wolves on February 18] has been top," Arteta added.

"I thought we were good, good human beings and wanting to win, but the level they are in now is another one.

"The feeling that you have to continue to win and win and win, you win so many games but it is not enough to open a gap.

"This is the beauty and the level of this league."