It is just two months since David Raya joined Arsenal from Brentford — yet the goalkeeper is already convinced the move has been a success.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, the Spaniard is asked if he is at the peak of his career. His answer is unequivocal.
“Yes,” he says. “I have taken an important step at club level. I am at one of the most important clubs in the world, so that is an incentive and gives you pride, competing in the Champions League, which was one of my objectives.”
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Raya’s signing in mid-August triggered an intense debate about whether Arsenal could satisfy two high-class international goalkeepers — with Aaron Ramsdale having established himself as first choice soon after joining the club in the summer of 2021.
The Englishman was initially picked ahead of Raya at the beginning of this season, starting the Premier League victories over Crystal Palace and Manchester United, as well as the draw with Fulham. However, between the September and October international breaks, Raya was selected by manager Mikel Arteta for all four top-flight fixtures plus Arsenal’s first two Champions League outings since 2017.
Yet despite the competition for a starting place — with both goalkeepers hoping to prove themselves to their international managers before the European Championship next summer — Raya sees a long-term future for himself at Arsenal.
His £3million ($3.7m) season-long loan could become a permanent move for £27m and, when asked if he would seal the deal now if given the chance, the 28-year-old does not hesitate: “Yes, I would have done it yesterday (if I could).”
The move had been brewing for a while. “In the summer, both personally and as a club, we wanted to leave Brentford,” says Raya, speaking before being on the bench for Spain’s victories this week over Scotland and Norway secured Euro 2024 qualification. “I had one year left on my contract and the club and I wanted to take the step. Then I had the opportunity to sign for Arsenal.”
Arteta was key to the signing, as was Spanish compatriot and Arsenal’s goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana, who had previously helped bring Raya to Brentford from Blackburn Rovers in 2019.
“I had a few conversations with Mikel before making the signing because it was complicated, the financial issue and so on,” says Raya. “He was one of the coaches I wanted to work with, his philosophy, how he has transformed Arsenal with the way he has played and it was very important to have him as a coach.”
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But did Arteta ever suggest to Raya he would be No 1 over Ramsdale?
“I’m going to fight for it. Arteta gives me the confidence to be there, that he wanted to have two top players in each position, and it was up to me to find the time and fight to get the minutes. I don’t want to think beyond that. If there are rotations, as there are in any position, I’m going to help on and off the pitch.”
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With Raya’s selection for the most recent — and important — matches, it might appear Arteta has shown his hand already over his goalkeeper preference. Yet, as The Athletic reported last week, there has been no animosity between Raya and Ramsdale.
“The relationship? It’s very good,” adds Raya. “At the end of the day, we are mates, which is the important thing. We have a very healthy relationship. There are no problems.
“We push each other every day in training: when he’s a little bit down, I push him, and when I’m a little bit down (he does the same). We train three goalkeepers, four at the most, for hours a week, and you need that kind of relationship because otherwise, the training is not going to go well.
“I don’t like to look to the future, I like to look at the day-to-day… but the perfect end would be to win a title with Arsenal, to be called up to the national team for the European Championship, and to have a good tournament.”
The hard work is paying off. Arsenal have 20 points from eight games and are only behind north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on goals scored at the top of the Premier League after beating champions Manchester City in their most recent match — their first league win over them in 15 attempts across eight years.
That 1-0 victory came partly due to a tweak in their planning, says Raya:
“If City is not the best in the world, they are one of the best teams, especially in pressing and in transitions. So we had to play a bit more direct, so to speak.
“In the first half, we tried to play a bit more from the back with some scares. In the second half, we changed the way we played, to lure them a bit more but with the possibility we had, to look for the back of their defence. With direct balls, we hurt them a lot.”
One of the notable ‘scares’ came when Julian Alvarez closed down Raya in the first half, and almost scored from the deflected clearance. There were also moments when the Spaniard would put a foot on the ball to bait his opponents. It is, however, all part of the plan.
“It’s something I have internalised, but it’s also the coach’s orders,” Raya says. “What he doesn’t want is for us to start hitting balls — we have to invite a player (opponent to press) to come out a little bit. I’m the free man, and once a striker or someone jumps me, that leaves a free man on the pitch, and we have to look for superiority. That’s the way the coach tells me to play.
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“The fans aren’t used to us goalkeepers having the ball for a long time and if they (the opponents) don’t press, you have to wait for the moment to pass the ball. It’s a risk that we take, but I take the responsibility that if, one day, there’s a mistake I’ll raise my hand. There’s no way around it.”
Raya knows there will be lows to accompany the highs at Arsenal but, as well as his new coaches supporting him through them, there will also be another special figure who will always be in his corner.
“My grandfather (Joaquin) has been a very important figure because he was the one who took me to training many nights in Cornella (a town on the outskirts of Barcelona),” says Raya, his eyes sparkling at the memory. “To have my grandfather at the presentation of a club like Arsenal, which is so, so, so familiar (well known) and the detail they had with him to give him the shirt, sign it and have him there… that is a source of pride and he was delighted.
The Arsenal family ❤️ pic.twitter.com/bdRBVtfTED
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 15, 2023
“You can see that at the presentation he gets emotional and a couple of tears come to his eyes. But after that, he was super-happy and watches all the games at home with my father when they can’t go to London.”
As for the future, Raya is keen to win the title with Arsenal and also cement his place in the Spain squad, with Unai Simon still the starting goalkeeper. He does not rule out the chance to play in La Liga either, having arrived in England aged 16.
“Right now, I don’t have it in mind,” he says, “Would I like to play in La Liga? Yes, of course… but at the moment I’m at Arsenal, I’m very happy, and we’ll see what happens in the next few years.”
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(Top photo: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
