Arsenal have signed goalkeeper, David Raya from Brentford on an initial season-long loan plus option to buy.
Raya had been heavily linked with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the start of this summer’s transfer window, although both clubs were put off by Brentford’s £40m price tag on the Spanish goalkeeper which also saw Bayern Munich walk away from negotiations.
Arsenal eventually swooped for Raya in order to provide Aaron Ramsdale with experienced competition, as Brentford accepted a £30m transfer bid, albeit split into a £3m season-long loan fee plus £27m buy option at end of season following discussions between both clubs.
The decision to opt for an initial season-long loan with option to buy has been made in order to allow Arsenal to meet Financial Fair Play rules, which Brentford are happy to support with Raya having signed a two-year extension with a club option to extend for a further 12 months.
Raya will wear the number 22 shirt during his season-long loan at Arsenal.
Arsenal’s Sporting Director, Edu issued the following statement upon confirmation of Raya’s loan move,: “We welcome David to us on a season-long loan from Brentford. David is a top-quality goalkeeper, who has consistently performed to a high level with Brentford in the Premier League.
“With David joining us we are adding quality and depth to our squad so we can perform at the highest possible level in all competitions.”
Brentford’s Director of Football, Phil Giles meanwhile explained the structure behind Raya’s loan move, as he added: “The answer to that is simply that it enables this deal to be done more rapidly between both clubs, with all parties wanting to make this a permanent transfer as soon as practically possible, whenever that might be.
“David’s contract extension is a fall-back position in the event that the transfer is not made permanent.”
Giles however iterated that the Bees are “not expecting” Raya to return to the club after his loan spell ends next summer, although he has described “the opportunity to work with such a high-class goalkeeper for up to two more years would in many ways be an unexpected bonus for us.”
On the decision to let Raya move across London to join the Gunners, Giles added: “David has been a magnificent goalkeeper for us. He thoroughly deserves his move to a Champions League club and the next step in his career.
“In our view he is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and will show himself to be one of the best in the world in the next few seasons.
“On top of that, he is a fantastic human being, and his conduct around the training ground these last few weeks has been, given the uncertainty around his future, absolutely exemplary. We wish him nothing but good luck.”
The 27 year-old began his career with Blackburn Rovers during which he spent time on loan at Southport, before he went on to keep 54 clean sheets in 161 appearances for Brentford across the last four seasons.
Raya represents Spain in international football and has made just two appearances which came in friendly wins over Albania and Jordan, whilst he also was an unused substitute in La Roja’s World Cup and Nations League squads.
Raya could make his debut for Arsenal away to Crystal Palace on Monday 21 August in a 8pm BST kick-off live on Sky Sports.
Ramsdale vs Raya
With two of last season’s stand-out goalkeepers now officially new teammates, Arteta faces a condundrum as to who out of Aaron Ramsdale or Raya will be Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper especially if look at their stats of last season in the Premier League.
| Ramsdale | Category | Raya |
| 14 | Clean Sheets | 12 |
| 43 | Goals Conceded | 46 |
| 95 | Saves | 154 |
| 14 | Punches | 10 |
| 22 | High Claims | 52 |
| 15 | Sweeper Clearances | 22 |
| 174 | Throw Outs | 160 |
| 1,276 | Touches | 1,882 |
| 934 | Passes | 1,475 |
| 0 | Interceptions | 1 |
| 7 | Aerial Battles Won | 13 |
| 0 | Aerial Battles Lost | 2 |
Although Ramsdale claimed more clean sheets and conceded less goals, you can’t ignore that the numbers in those categories were still close, which is impressive considering that Raya was only playing his second season in the top-flight and the quality difference between both clubs.
Raya however seems the more athletic out of both goalkeepers with considerable more saves and high claims than Ramsdale, whilst his aerial ability is also considerably stronger with 13 wins from 15 aerial battles compared to just seven from the current Arsenal no.1.
Those stats therefore should give Arteta a headache because Raya clearly is the more stronger sweeper keeper in terms of athletic ability and coming out to battle to win crosses, even though Ramsdale is slightly better in throw-outs and making crucial punches.
Raya also has demonstrated his confident ability to contribute to attacking play given the superior amount of touches and passes that he had on the ball for Brentford last season, which could well offer Arteta more creativity in playing out from the back than Ramsdale managed last season.
Either way, Ramsdale and Raya face a tough battle across the season for the first-choice goalkeeping spot especially with Arsenal fighting for four trophies again this season.
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