Mikel Arteta might already have an idea about his first summer signing. Arsenal could soon confirm David Raya as their first signing of the summer.
Last summer, the Gunners had to comply with FFP regulations, so they couldn’t afford a permanent Raya swoop. Instead, they managed to secure him on a loan deal worth £3 million, with an obligation to sign him on loan.
What a signing Raya was! He has really impressed in Arsenal colours! Despite missing six league games, he has proven to be the top goalkeeper in the Premier League, scooping the Golden Glove. He’s been making some incredible saves game after game, keeping the most cleansheets (15 cleansheets in 30 games so far, which is seriously impressive), and has significantly improved Arsenal’s distribution by completing 37.4% of his passes, which is better than Ramsdale’s 25.4% last season. The Spaniard has also claimed 12.2 per cent of crosses faced this season, a better record than any other keeper in Europe’s top five leagues. Aaron Ramsdale’s rate was 5.8 last season which is proof that Raya is an upgrade.
Most Gooners must be pleased with the Spanish shot-stopper. Interestingly, Arteta and his technical bench have not just been impressed by the goalie’s stats and top-notch goalkeeping, but also by one of his unique qualities.
He’s really impressed the technical bench with how he responds to errors in his performances. This probably makes those at the club see him as someone who is ready to get better.
That said, surely Arsenal decision-makers are confident in Raya’s goalkeeping abilities and must plan to secure him as a permanent signing by paying the £27 million option.
There are a lot of deals that the Gooners are looking forward to this summer, and it seems like a £27 million swoop for Raya could be the start of Arsenal’s summer spending spree.
Daniel O
ADMIN COMMENT
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Inter signs Marcus Thuram and Mehdi Taremi for free
Leverkusen signs Alex Grimaldo for free, Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella for 20m each
Stuttgart signs Maximilian Mittelstädt for half a million!!!
We’re out here spending 30 million on a league one keeper…
Sigh 🙄
Also this article sounds like it’s been written by Arteta himself, selecting a handful of convenient stats to justify the extortionate transfer fee
😳😂
Exactly, a league one keeper, a golden glove winner keeper,a sSpanish international keeper, our number 1 keeper. ….oh ! What a waste of money
~£30m for one of the best GKs in the PL for the last few seasons.
When you consider the realities around the transfer fees for players this has to be considered a good deal. Ideally, we have got him before his valuation shot up but for whatever reasons we didn’t.
Calling him a league one keeper at this point is odd.
Rootk1t, You will come to regret publicly embarrassing yourself by saying RAYA is “a league one keeper”, thus proving you know NOTHING AT ALL about keepers.
How embarrassing for you to be SO dull witted, and in public too!
Don’t be bitter raya has good this season
*has been
“If you torture the data long enough, it will tell you what you want to hear”
Rice added to the team in addition to the brilliant form and fitness of Gabriel and Saliba is the main contributor to more clean sheets and assisting with distribution.
No doubt Raya is better in the air than Ramsdale, more than that I’m not too sure
Playing out of defense, long balls, taking a higher line raya is more confident and comfortable than ramsdale but ramsdale is a better shot stopper.
A number of people have stated categorically that Ramsdale is a better shot stopper but what is the evidence for this?
I do know that Ramsdale wasn’t so good at stopping shots from distance (edge of the box shots), and was also quite poor at his near post where goals were scored against us.
Raya doesn’t have to so much shot-stopping, so you can’t really compare the two.
…have to do so much…
Raya has advantage of aerial abilities than Ramsdale and he is also good at covering his angles well, but he hasn’t been exceptional.
“Masterstroke” I am not sure about that. Our good defense compared to last season has made his work easier. With our resolte defence Ramsdale would have won golden glove too he had 14 clean sheets las season despite Saliba’s injury.
I think some of the statements are a bit over the top; “Masterstroke,” and “…making some incredible saves game after game.”
Better than Ramsdale? I’m not so convinced about that. A competition would have answered that question, but making that claim while only playing 1 keeper is faulty logic to me.
Guess I missed most of those “incredible saves” that were mentioned, but he has been an improvement on claiming crosses.
It is done, Arteta has made his choice, so we move on. Best of luck to Ramsdale at his next club; only a fool would believe he is happy sitting on the bench and getting a half dozen games a season.
😂😂😂😂😂 “..He’s been making some incredible saves game after game..” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
If you are this with anything positive about this current Arsenal team that has brought back positive vibes around the club, then I wonder what you will be like when things get bad like before Arteta took over. Anything positive right now you try to dampen it. You must have such an exciting personal life. 😊
Raya has helped the team be where they are, I don’t dispute that. But him making ,” ..INCREDIBLE saves GAME AFTER GAME..” is such an incredible hyperbole😂😂😂
I know this Raya thing is over the top hyperbole.
But I have noticed that anything positive about Arteta and his team gets you all unhappy, passive aggressive and you always try to turn any positivity into negativity.
Even when negativity is not warranted you introduce it in order to advance your negative Arteta narrative. I keep seeing your commente on here on different topics and you seem to have this dislike for the manager and some of his players. You did the same thing with Kai Havertz etc.
What’s with all the anger, negativity and beef? People are enjoying the positivity and feel good factor at the club while you just seem despise the feel good factor.
We have to understand that raya won’t have to make manysaves , credit to how the team has been setup
Look at keepers with the most saves and you will realise that they play for struggling teams.
It’s obvious that clean sheet currently is a team achievement but the keeper play the major role hence, the reason they have been recognised for it.
And is being clear that the major reason why raya its ahead of ramsdale is the former ball playing ability which he has shown clearly this season, the same reason Joe Hart, who arguably is the best gk in the league before the arrival of pep, was dropped. So arteta decision is not a strange one and its logical and as far this season is concern is a success
Raya has been a brilliant signing for Arsenal. He has enabled Arsenal to play in a way that they couldn’t with Ramsdale. There are two key areas where Raya excels which have enabled this. Firstly is cross claiming,which is better than any goalkeeper’s in the league. A keeper catching crosses settles the defence because the defenders don’t have to worry about tussling with opponents.It’s not a coincidence that our central defenders are more composed with Raya behind them.
Secondly is his positioning. Raya is by far the most aggressive keeper in the league. As a sweeper keeper,his positioning is usually higher up the pitch and this enables him to sweep behind our high defensive line, like he did for the Gabriel mistake. He’s done this in every game to stop counter attacks but people would rather focus on saves. Sweeping is something out of Aaaron’s comfort zone as well. Another advantage of Raya’s aggressive positioning is that it pushes the team further forward,enabling Odegaard and Havertz to press closer to the Opposition goal.
Arteta said this about Raya,” What I like about David is the things he does in goal and the things he prevents that sometimes you don’t even see because they don’t happen — because he has anticipated them,”. Essentially,his sweeping and cross catching reduce the amount of shots he faces thus he doesn’t need to make too many saves as a result.It is why I dislike the narrative that his clean sheets is just a result of the brilliant defense in front of him. Raya has been as vital as anyone else in earning those clean sheets.
You’re first point not true whatsoever
3 keepers have a better high claim percentage than Raya this season ,one being Martinez
Your second point not even close ,ederson is miles above any keeper for positioning and the best keeper not just in the PL but in the world for being a sweeper keeper and ball at his feet .
Just because Arteta said it does not mean it’s a fact
I could be inaccurate but I’m not lying. I checked Fbref and Raya’s cross stopping percentage is 13,marginally better than Martinez at 12.6. In the Premier League website Raya has 38 high claims,just 4 behind Jose Sa who is probably facing more crosses. It really doesn’t matter who is ahead of Raya. He’s in the 99th percentile in this regard. He is elite in that aspect and nothing you’ve said refutes my point. I think he was also the best in the league last season when it comes to high claims.
About aggressive positioning,I may have exaggerated by saying he’s by far the best.According to the stats I’m looking at,Raya’s average defensive positioning is 25m from goal,only marginally better than Ederson’s average of 23m. Ederson is no doubt one of the best in terms of sweeping. Probably better than Raya but there’s no denying that Raya is very good in terms of sweeping. I actually think the German goalkeepers are better than Ederson in terms of sweeping by the way-check the stats.
My post was not about a comparison with other keepers like Martinez and Ederson. I was highlighting two areas in which Raya is elite,backed by statistics. What Arteta said is obviously not a fact but merely an opinion/observation of someone who has a better understanding of football than most of us and happens to work closely with Raya unlike most of us on here. His comments on Raya’s anticipation preventing danger is one I happen to agree with. You don’t seem to agree with it and that’s fine.
Noting more to add
Bet you are the one not saying a truer word here, you are wrong and admit Raya is elite and I will say better than Ederson this season.
Thanks and to add to your points Raya had 12 clean sheets in the league last season, and to cap it up ramsbale claimed 5.8 crosses last season and raya 12+ crosses claimed this season which means their is a little matter of 5+ crosses not being claimed, which turns to a dangerous shot which then turns to a fantastic save which makes you as a fan think it brilliant from the goalkeeper but Raya claims those crosses which means no dangerous shot and no spectacular save which makes some fans think he faces less shot because of a brilliant defense when in fact he making the defence look brilliant by improving the little details
People need a good footballing IQ and an honest and unbiased demeanor to see that. Many lack both, some here lack the latter here. And nothing Arteta does will change such opinions.
Finally, the Raya Vs Ramsdale debate always comes up, I might as well weigh in. Often fans and pundits will debate about who is better. These debates are usually subjective and biased because hardly any objective analysis is done.
That said, I feel the conversation should be about who fits the tactics of the manager better. At the end of the day it’s Mikel and his staff that come up with tactics and as such are better placed than fans & pundits to know which player(s) fit their tactics. They watch these players in training and matches. They have extensive data on the players as well. It’s fair to assume they know the strengths and weaknesses of the players.
I often hear the term ‘favourites’ but I prefer the term ‘preferences’. All the great managers have always had their preferences because they know the players that fit their philosophy and style. It is why I felt bad for Emery when he didn’t get the player he wanted and preferred in Zaha. Instead he got Pepe who was considered a better player at the time by many. It was obvious after a while that Pepe didn’t fit into Emery’s style.
Anytime the Raya Vs Aaron debate comes up, ask yourself who fits Arteta’s football better. A player is as good as the system he plays in and a system of play can suit one player than another.
Great Post Onyango and one that tells the truth.
This is Arteta’s squad and he lives or dies by it.
Personally, I don’t think either keeper comes near the likes of Jennings, Seaman or Lehman and there are better current PL keepers, such as the city, spud and Everton men.
Both Ramsdale and Raya would / have benefit from a superb defence, so to try and choose which one is a better keeper, is pointless as it’s Arteta’s choice and he’s made it..
The question is, has Ramsdale made his?
Do you think he has not madeup his mind to leavethenKEN?
That he would prefer to spend the next season here as number choice?
I say that is inconceivable and that he HAS made up his mind to leave
It is not facing the reality of how players think, to believe there is even a chance he will wish to stay.
….. number two choice?
I enjoy reading your posts too. Always well considered and researched.
All stuff and nonsense. Why are we getting about two of these pro Raya articles every two weeks? What’s the agenda?, what’s there to prove? Arsenal’s current position is down to the solid defense provided by the five centre halves in Saliba, Gabriel, White, Tomiyasu, Kiwior etc, the cool head of Rice, the skills of Odegaard and the finishing touches of Saka, Trossard, Martinelli and Harvetz. On a more important note, we are all primed to become Fulham fans in a few hours. From my experience the most beautiful ground in England. In such a setting wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could do against City what they did against us?
So you are ready to dismiss Raya’s role in making our defenses cool and solid but are very quick to draw conclusion that maybe our defenses have improved in a year to reap the results we have now.
More articles like these please! We need these articles to make people with egos bigger than Arteta uncomfortable who think Arteta’s ego must be lesser than theirs.
Deluded, how many of Arsenal’s clean sheets can be put down to Raya’s saves? Two, three at most? Then there have been his gaffs. Does that make him a superior goalkeeper. Anyway we lost the title last season because the team, manager included lost their bottle.
The “team bottled”. Did that team include Ramsdale?
Who knows but Ramsdale was not responsible for the collapses against Liverpool, West Ham and the no shows against Brighton and Manchester City.
i agree with Jon Fox. I think it is inconceivable that Ramsdale will stay. So it’s:
Thank you. Thank you for last season best wishes for the next.
The question is who will be his replacement.
I think we are going to have a summer of those who don’t know, telling us they do know.
Those who know, will tell us when the right time comes.