“When I came to Arsenal”… How Raya and Ramsdale felt about each other when Spaniard arrived at the Emirates

Despite Arsenal’s flailing title bid, David Raya has had another strong season in goal for the Gunners.

After making his move from Brentford to North London permanent last summer, the 29-year-old has solidified his position as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper, starting all but three of his side’s games in all competitions this season.

The Spaniard has also helped ensure Arsenal again have the best defence in the Premier League, with his side conceding just 23 goals, three fewer than next best Liverpool.

And speaking on Gunners goalkeeping legend David Seaman’s podcast, Arsenal fans will be warmed by what Raya had to say about a former Emirates teammate.

David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale never had a problem with each other

Raya was signed to compete with Ramsdale, a fans’ favourite in North London.

While Mikel Arteta was slow to integrate his new goalkeeper, keeping him on the bench for the first three games of the 2023/24 season, Raya was given his Arsenal debut after the first international break.

From then on, it was clear Raya was Arteta’s first choice, starting every game in the Premier League bar those against Brentford which he was not eligible to play and every game in the Champions League excluding the final group game at PSV.

This caused intense media scrutiny of the relationship between Arsenal’s two goalkeepers at the time.

However, speaking to Seaman, Raya said: “When I came to Arsenal, I never had a problem with Aaron, and he never had a problem with me.”

The Spaniard added: “If you are not playing, you have to ask yourself two questions: am I giving it the best or is it the manager’s decision? Cause if it is the manager’s decision, you cannot have a problem with your teammate.”

Evidently, Arteta had made his decision that Raya was his No.1 and was not going to stray from that.

How Raya compares to Ramsdale, Leno and Cech

Interestingly, after he was first signed, Arsenal fans were divided between Raya or Ramsdale, with some arguing the Englishman should have been the first choice and others supporting Raya as the Gunners’ No.1.

With the benefit of hindsight, it appears Arteta made the correct decision.

During his time at Arsenal, Ramsdale kept 28 clean sheets in the Premier League across 78 appearances. By comparison, David Raya has had just three fewer shutouts (25) in 20 fewer games (58).

While playing for sides at different ends of the table this season, Raya’s save percentage of 72.94%, according to Opta Analyst, is also markedly higher than Ramsdale’s 66.12% at Southampton.

It is a similar story when Raya’s record is compared to other goalkeepers in Arsenal’s recent history.

Bernd Leno, for example, made 101 appearances for the Gunners in the Premier League, keeping 25 clean sheets. That’s the same number of clean sheets as Raya but in 43 more appearances.

At 67.29%, Leno’s save percentage for Fulham this season is also lower than Raya’s for Arsenal.

Finally, Petr Cech kept 40 clean sheets in 110 games for the Gunners. That works out as a clean sheet percentage of 36%, which is seven points lower than Raya’s 43%.

Now firmly established as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper and having adjusted to life in North London, the hope is Raya will continue to go from strength to strength.

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