David Raya says Arsenal 'have to adapt' to new Puma ball after 'magical' Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick hands Liverpool crucial win

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After 25 years of Nike, the Premier League welcomed a new addition over the summer. David Raya believes that Arsenal "still have to adapt" to the current Puma footballs after Dominik Szoboszlai's "magical" late free-kick saw the Spaniard concede for the first time this season. Liverpool head into the international break top of the Premier League table as the only side still with a 100% win record.

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David Raya said Arsenal "still have to adapt" to the Premier League's new Puma ball after Dominik Szoboszlai's late free-kick handed Liverpool a 1-0 win at Anfield.

The Hungary international struck the winner from 32 yards out in the 83rd minute, as Arne Slot's side maintained their 100% win record at the start of this season.

Heading into the September international break, the champions are now top of the league table, with Chelsea in second place and Crystal Palace, in eighth, the only other teams still unbeaten.

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Arsenal keeper Raya called Szoboszlai's goal "a hell of a strike", but noted that he was not used to playing with the new Puma ball, which was brought in at the start of the campaign after 25 years of balls manufactured by Nike.

"I haven't seen it [the goal] back yet," Raya told Sky Sports. "[I'm] disappointed not to save it like every goal you concede. I think it's a hell of a strike. I remember the ball moving a lot and moving away from me. Hopefully, the next one I can save.

"It's a very good strike, especially with the new balls and everything. We still have to adapt. It's going away from me so it's harder to gauge and save it.

"It's different to the Nike ball so we have to adapt to it. The grip is different, the kick is different. We just have to adapt after playing with the Nike ball for many years. It's the same for everybody."

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It is not the first time that Puma's balls have been deemed a contributing factor to an Arsenal loss, with Mikel Arteta calling last season's Carabao Cup equipment "tricky" after their semi-final defeat to Newcastle.

The Gunners avoided a league defeat to the traditional "Big Six" teams in the entirety of the last two seasons, their last such reverse coming at the hands of Manchester City in April 2023.

And Arteta last saw his side lose to Liverpool in March 2022, a total of 1,261 days ago.

But Raya chose to take the positives as that run came to an end on Sunday, arguing that "fine margins" decided the result.

"We wanted to go forward to attack them, to keep them quiet in the first half," Raya said. "We showed a lot of character to keep Liverpool quiet. You have to take the positives from it. It's fine margins and a magical moment from them.

"We haven't been beaten by the top six clubs in many games. There are a lot of steps forward to take and learn in every single aspect. There's always things you have to learn."

However, Arteta admitted that he was "very disappointed" to end up on the losing side, blaming his side's finishing for the defeat.

"I was very disappointed with the result. I think we elevated the game to a point where we dominated them in parts of the game. That is very difficult to do here at Anfield," Arteta told the BBC.

"They produced an incredible magic moment to win the game. That is the edge and when it's not him [Szoboszlai], it's Salah or someone else.

"With the dominance and how we play the game, it's very clear we have to finish the moments to win the game. It's the execution."

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