Mikel Arteta said his heart almost stopped before David Raya kept ­Arsenal’s title challenge on track with a stunning late save to deny 10‑man Chelsea a late equaliser at the Emirates Stadium.

Raya was in exceptional form ­during a crucial 2-1 win, making a series of excellent stops during a tense encounter, and the Spaniard was alert when a cross from Alejandro Garnacho threatened to drift inside his near post as full time approached. The goalkeeper pushed the ball wide, ensuring that goals from William Saliba and Jurriën Timber enabled Arsenal to restore their five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

“David is one of our leaders and he’s a keeper that knows how to ­maintain his focus and decide a football match when you need it,” Arteta said. “Sometimes he doesn’t parti­cipate at all and then in one action you have to be there, and that’s very difficult to do.

“The save in the last action, it’s a cross [from Garnacho], it’s not a shot, but it ended up being an ­unbelievable shot. My heart almost stopped, but David’s hand was there to bring it back to life.”

Arteta, who said Declan Rice...