David Raya’s performances for Spain show why he is fast becoming one of the world’s best keepers

The last two games showed exactly why David Raya is fast becoming one of the best keepers in the world.

 A key talking point from the first two months of the season so far has to be the form of David Raya in goal for Arsenal. We’ve seen him drop some insane performances consistently for us througout this campaign, with the Spaniard pulling off perhaps some of the best saves in his career till date with the stops agaisnt Watkins in the PL and Retegui in the Champions League this season.

This insane form has coincided with the depature of Aaron Ramsdale which might have a part to do with it because of how assured the Spaniard has been in his game than last season. These performances for us has already seen him get recognition as being one of the best in world(in his position) among fans and pundits alike which is the least he deserves however he will even get more elevated level of praise after his exploits in this recent international break.

The Spanish shot stopper has indeed transferred his form in an Arsenal shirt to the internationals, keeping consecutive clean sheets in comfortable wins for his country Spain. He didn’t have a lot to do in both games which is understandable given Spain’s dominance, however he still did well to handle any threat when called upon and also keeping cleansheets consecutively. His distribution especially in the first game against Denmark was exceptional, which along with his shot stopping is making him fast becoming one of the best GKs in the world.

He’ll definitely need more consistency to be able to get labelled that frequently however I trust he’ll continue to show a certain level of consistency this season.

Where does he rank among the best in the world gooners?

KENNETH BENJAMIN.

 


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5 Comments

  1. I have no qualms in admitting I questioned MA decision when we first signed DR. We had a good keeper in AR so why spoil it.
    How wrong was i
    Since establishing himself as no.1 he has steadily grown and grown in stature.
    Brings calmness to the team and slowly establishing himself as a top keeper in the world
    Odd mistake in him still but ain’t all keepers prone to that.
    Distribution is very good but not great so would like him to improve on that if I was the manager
    Overall happy he is between our sticks and not someone else’s.
    Onwards and upwards

  2. Raya isn’t “becoming” one of the world’s best keepers…he already was. For someone 3/4 inches shorter than most others in his position it’s amazing how many high balls & crosses he claims, his footwork has improved, his throws are very accurate and we all know about his saves.
    And he’s still quite young for a keeper, so let’s hope he stays.

    1. I agree (but there was quite a debate only a while ago on JA as to whether Raya was even one of the best in the EPL).

      As for his height, 6ft/1.83m, it’s the same as a famous keeper of yesteryear – Gordon Banks – who is still generally considered to be one of the world’s all-time best. As with other things in life, it’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it, I guess.

      1. Just to add,as basketball fans would know,there’s another measurement called ‘wingspan’ which is the distance between outstretched fingertips. Someone could be short in height but have relatively long arms or large hands which increase their ‘length’. So in as much as Raya is 6ft, his wingspan is likely greater than that.

        A good example is the NBA legend Michael Jordan who is 6’6’’ but has a 6’11’ wingspan so he has a greater reach than the average 6’6’’ guy. Jordan also has extraordinarily large hands. My guess is that Raya has a longer wingspan which compensates for the relatively short height.

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