“I have come to the conclusion that, if I had not gone to England at such a young age, I would be working in the family business and not playing football,” a man recently acknowledged. David Raya (Barcelona, Spain, 1996) that, surely, not even in his wildest dreams would he have imagined being defending the goal of the Arsenal in a final of the Champions. Much of the blame lies with his two great supporters: Luis Enrique and Mikel Arteta.
David Raya speaks to MARCA before the Champions League final
David Raya He has always worked his own way. In 2012, at just 16 years old, he took on the challenge of leaving his natural habitat in the Cornellá to join the academy Blackburn…being the goalkeeper mold diametrically opposite to the one that attracts attention in England. Seven years later, and after a transfer to Southport in National League (non-professional) to see the clay first hand, the Brentford He signed him for just over three million.
Since then, the rise of Raya It was meteoric: it landed with the ‘bees’ established in Championshipin 2021 they managed to promote Premier and, in March 2022, he had the opportunity to represent Spain…without ever having gone through the lower ranks. “He is on the list of goalkeepers that we follow. He has been playing well for some time and has the profile that a goalkeeper needs in the Selectionboth for his ability between the sticks and his play with his feet.” Less than a year later, he was part of the expedition of Qatar 2022.
He has been playing well for some time and has the profile that a goalkeeper needs in the National Team.
Precisely, those feline reflexes and ability to manage the ball were what, despite his 1.83 cm, earned him the respect of the Premier…at the same time that it caught the attention of a Arsenal which seemed well covered with Ramsdale. “I was very convinced that we had to make a change. Not because Aaron “I didn’t have quality, but because to take the next step I believed we needed a different goalkeeper profile,” he analyzed. Arteta recently.
Time did not take long to prove him right and, during these three seasons, Raya has justified each of the 30 million that the Arsenal —upon assignment— to give him the keys to the goal of the Emirates. Behind his back, he links three Golden Gloves of the Premier. The last one, equaling the record of a myth like David Seaman with 19 ‘clean sheets’. “I am in a very good stage both personally and professionally. My clean sheets are due to the entire team. It is an incredible achievement and not many goalkeepers of the Premier they have achieved it,” he acknowledged in the ‘Media Day’ where MARK was present.
De la Fuente has a problem: Raya’s saves to save Arsenal
Nominated for ‘Best Player’ of the season in Premierit is in Champions where Raya He is beginning to strengthen his legend… appearing when he is needed most: no other goalkeeper averages a better percentage of saves (89.2%) or goals prevented (4.8). As it is, he has a shot at overcoming Edouard Mendy as the goalkeeper with clean sheets (9) in the same edition of Champions League. The last obstacle: PSG of his supporter Luis Enrique.
“I know him very closely from the National Team and he was the one who made my debut in The Red. I have a lot of appreciation for him, he is a great coach and a good person. He always adjusts things to make things difficult for his rival. Let’s hope to win the battle this time,” he expressed in the presence of the microphones of MARK in the camp where the Gunner training center has been set up. “Both are very similar from an analytical point of view. They both say things in the talks that later happen in the games.”
I have a lot of appreciation for him, he is a great coach and a good person.
This afternoon, his two greatest supporters will be face to face… and what happens in the final will depend, to a large extent, on the performance of the Spanish goalkeeper. Budapest. Surely, although it owes a lot to Luis Enriquehe will prefer to pay it at another time in pursuit of lifting the Champions League with Arteta with the Arsenal. “I’d rather break my hands or lose them… but win the title,” acknowledged a David Raya con Golden Gloves.
