Spanish national team goalkeeper David Raya has joined Arsenal football club on a season-long loan from Brentford, with an option for a permanent deal.
Raya, 27, has chosen to wear shirt number 22 at the Emirates Stadium and will compete with England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale for the goalkeeping position at the club.
The Spanish goalie was a key member of Brentford’s team in recent years and played in all 38 of their Premier League games last season.
During the Bees’ ninth-place finish in the Premier League last season, David Raya recorded 11 clean sheets.
Arsenal sporting director Edu said, “David is a top-quality goalkeeper, who has consistently performed to a high level with Brentford”.
After completing his loan move to Arsenal, David Raya said, “I’m over the moon to be able to take this challenge in my career and make the step up. I’m really excited to get going and see how the season ends up. I spoke to the boss and he sent me the values of what Arsenal are about. The way that the club is going, it’s growing even more so it is a beautiful challenge to take and I couldn’t say no.
“I’ve seen Arsenal a lot for a lot of years and since [Mikel] came he’s made a massive difference to the style of play and the club. The way the team plays out of the back, being confident, and taking possession of the other team is the main thing why I fit into the team. I’m going to try and help as much as possible and we’ll see what happens.”
David Raya’s first season with Brentford ended with him winning the EFL Golden Glove for his efforts and his team narrowly missing out on Premier League promotion.
David was a key player in Brentford’s 2021 Championship play-off victory over Swansea City and subsequent promotion. Hence, he started his journey in the Premier League in the 2021-2022 season.
Since then, David Raya has made 161 appearances for Thomas Frank’s team in all competitions.
David made his international debut for Spain in a 2-1 victory over Albania in March 2022. He was part of the Spain 2022 World Cup team that was knocked out of the tournament in the round of 16 by Morocco.
At the end of the 2022-2023 season, he helped Spain to beat Croatia on penalties to win the 2023 UEFA Nations League.
