Raya's double save rescues Arsenal in Champions League draw amid attacking concerns without Odegaard

BERGAMO, Italy (AP) — The first save was great. The second was even better.

David Raya came to Arsenal's rescue in the Champions League on Thursday with a double save from a penalty that was celebrated by his teammates as wildly as a goal being scored.

It preserved a 0-0 draw with Atalanta in the opening round of matches in the revamped tournament, and provided a further demonstration of the shot-stopping qualities of a goalkeeper more renowned for his ability with the ball at his feet.

The Spain international dived to his right to block the 51st-minute spot kick taken by Mateo Retegui, after Thomas Partey tripped Ederson. Raya quickly got to his feet, scrambled across his line and then used his left arm to claw away a header from Retegui off the goal line after the ball had rebounded out to the Italy striker.

“I was lucky to go the right way and save it,” Raya said. “I was unlucky to put the rebound straight to him but I was quick enough to get up and save the rebound. It is fantastic to be able to keep the clean sheet and to help the team at least get a point.”

Raya gave a big roar and was mobbed by Arsenal's players in the goalmouth. The goalkeeper performed a similar scrambling save on the goal line in the Premier League this season at Aston Villa to deny Ollie Watkins, before Arsenal went on to score twice in the second half for a 2-0 win.

There were no late goals this time for Mikel Arteta's team, whose creativity and attacking spark has been hit by an ankle injury sustained by captain Martin Odegaard while playing for Norway during the recent international break.

Odegaard has “significant” ankle ligament damage that will keep him out of action for “a while,” Arteta said before the Atalanta game.

Without its attacking midfielder, Arsenal underwhelmed before grabbing a goal from a corner in a 1-0 win over north London rival Tottenham on Sunday and was kept goalless by Atalanta, managing only two shots on target in Bergamo.

Manchester City is up next for Arsenal on Sunday in a meeting between the two favorites for the Premier League title.

With its attacking strength damaged, Arsenal might have to rely on a strong defensive performance to keep City at bay — like the team did last season in a 0-0 draw at Etihad Stadium.

With Raya in such great form, it could happen again.

“I’m in a good way now,” said Raya, who joined Arsenal from Brentford at the start of last season and took the goalkeeper jersey from Aaron Ramsdale in a big call by Arteta. “I have things to improve, as always, but of course I’m in a good place right now.”

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said Raya has “gone to the next level.”

“There was massive pressure on him," Rice said. “He was our No. 1 last season and obviously now he is fully No. 1 — there are no questions about that anymore. He's really focused and that's three games this season he has made crucial saves for us.”

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Arsenal's goalkeeper David Raya, centre, makes a save during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Arsenal at the Bergamo's stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Arsenal's goalkeeper David Raya applauds after the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Arsenal at the Bergamo's stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Arsenal's goalkeeper David Raya claims the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in London, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta gestures during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Arsenal at the Bergamo's stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Arsenal's Raheem Sterling, centre left, and Atalanta's Juan Cuadrado challenge for the ball during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Arsenal at the Bergamo's stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta, right, and Ben White talk during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Arsenal at the Bergamo's stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Atalanta's Mateo Retegui, right, misses to score a penalty during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Arsenal at the Bergamo's stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Atalanta's Mateo Retegui, right, misses to score a penalty during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Arsenal at the Bergamo's stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

German airline Lufthansa said several employees were injured on Thursday after the nose gear of a Boeing jet collapsed while the aircraft was parked at a gate at Frankfurt airport.

Only crew members and ground staff were on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner when the front tip of the plane crashed to the ground ahead of passenger boarding for a scheduled flight to Los Angeles. The flight was later canceled.

“Several employees were injured and are currently receiving medical attention,” Lufthansa said in a statement, adding that it and relevant authorities were investigating.

The plane is about a year old, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

Boeing said it is “aware of the incident” and "supporting our customer.”

Video footage from the scene appeared to show the front wheels of the wide-body aircraft sliding forward and the plane's nose falling several meters (yards) as a ground crew member standing nearby quickly backed away. The doors to the nose gear bay broke off upon impact.

Jeff Guzzetti, a former U.S. federal aviation crash investigator, said it is “very unusual” for a nose landing gear to collapse while an aircraft is at a standstill. He cautioned it is too early to speculate on the cause of the incident, but he said potential factors could include prior damage to the landing gear, a mechanical failure or issues related to maintenance work.

Investigators, he said, will be looking closely at the plane’s maintenance history and system records, and may also review flight data to understand how the aircraft’s landing gear had been operating in previous landings.

“They’re going to look at every square inch of that nose landing gear strut and the mechanisms that operate it,” Guzzetti said.

A 2021 incident at London’s Heathrow Airport also involved the nose landing gear of a Boeing 787. According to a report by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, a 787-8 was undergoing maintenance at a gate when its nose landing gear retracted during testing, causing the aircraft’s nose to drop onto the pavement. Investigators found that a locking pin intended to prevent retraction had been inserted into the wrong position, allowing the gear to fold despite safeguards designed to keep it extended.

The 787 Dreamliner, a wide-body twin-aisle aircraft used primarily on long-haul international routes, first entered service in 2011. The version involved in Thursday’s incident can carry up to 296 passengers, depending on configuration.

In recent years, the 787 program had been plagued by production flaws and quality-control issues, with shipments of the large plane temporarily halted on multiple occasions.

Issues with the 787 started in 2020 when small gaps were found between panels of the fuselage that are made of carbon composite material. That prompted inspections that turned up problems with a pressurization bulkhead at the front of the plane.

In May 2021, Boeing halted 787 deliveries while U.S. federal regulators looked over documentation of work that was done on new planes.

In June 2023, Boeing said 787 deliveries were delayed again while it inspected fittings on part of the aircraft’s tail — the horizontal stabilizer — after identifying a “nonconforming condition.” The company said at the time that the issue would affect near-term deliveries but was not considered a safety risk for aircraft already in service.

Yamat, AP's airlines and travel writer, reported from Las Vegas.

A Lufthansa 'Dreamliner' aircraft lies on its nose in front of a terminal at the Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, June 4, 2026, after the nose landing gear collapsed. (Mike Seeboth/dpa via AP)

A Lufthansa "Dreamliner " aircraft lies on its nose in front of a terminal at Frankfurt Airport after the nose landing gear collapsed on Thursday, June 4, 2026 in Frankfurt, Germany, (Mike Seeboth/dpa via AP)