Brentford’s David Raya was excellent for The Bees last season, helping the London-based club to a well-deserved ninth place finish in the English Premier League.
Although Ivan Toney captured a lot of the headlines due to his outstanding goalscoring form, Raya’s performances didn’t go unnoticed with many clubs across Europe interested in his signature.
One club who have taken the lead in the race for the Spanish goalkeeper is Arsenal, who finished second in the league and are looking to further strengthen their squad in an attempt to overtake Manchester City as champions.
Here’s how Raya could fit in in North London.
Competition for Ramsdale
England ‘keeper Aaron Ramsdale was a constant fixture in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI last season, playing every minute in the league as Arsenal produced their best campaign in years. Ramsdale is an excellent shot stopper and is as good on the ball as any goalkeeper in the world on his day, but is prone to lapses of concentration at times, perhaps due to the lack of a top-level second choice goalkeeper to keep him at the top of this game.
Raya could be the perfect partner for Ramsdale in the Arsenal squad. The Gunners’ current number one has mentioned previously how he loves playing in away fixtures due to the aggressive atmosphere created by opposition fans keeping him focused, and this is reflected statistically.
Arsenal conceded 18 goals and kept 10 clean sheets in away fixtures, compared to conceding 25 goals and keeping just four clean sheets in 18 games at the Emirates.
With a tougher fixture list this season after qualifying for the UEFA Champions League on top of their domestic commitments, it is possible that Arteta may opt to rotate Raya and Ramsdale between home and away fixtures in order to get the best out of each player and improve Arsenal’s home defensive record.
Style of Play
Stylistically Raya fits Arteta’s vision down to a tee and would be a like-for-like replacement for Ramsdale in goal. Aside from making the most saves in the league last season, Raya impressed many with his accurate long passing to Brentford’s attackers and ability to act as a sweeper-keeper when balls were played in behind.
Arsenal’s front three of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli are all at their most dangerous when found in space, and Raya’s ability to find them will only improve that. On top of this, Arsenal like to defend aggressively with a high line due to the athleticism of their central defenders – they will be able to confidently keep doing this with Raya coming off his line to sweep up any loose balls.
