Arsenal have made a surprise move by sparking an interest to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, despite having Aaron Ramsdale, find out the reason behind Arteta’s decision and their vs stats
The Gunners signed Aaron Ramsdale from relegated side Sheffield United for £30m back in the 2021 summer transfer window.
David Raya vs Aaron Ramsdale goalkeeper stats, clean sheet record and saves percentage
🚨𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐲𝐚 ➡️ 𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥
Arsenal and Brentford are very close to an agreement for the transfer of David Raya.
Raya only wants to play for Arsenal; the keeper is ready to compete with No. 1, Aaron Ramsdale.
Personal terms are already agreed upon.
Brentford… pic.twitter.com/fqrfYzhFU5
— Purple Panel (@PurplePanel) August 2, 2023
Aaron Ramsdale 🆚 David Raya… Who would be Arsenal's #️⃣1️⃣? 🧤 pic.twitter.com/CPdfN3bVx9
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) July 31, 2023
Despite Ramsdale’s impressive performances, Arsenal are now looking to bring in a new goalkeeper – David Raya. Interestingly, Arsenal were initially interested to bring in Raya before they signed Ramsdale.
According to reports, Arsenal will have to pay £40m for the Spaniard stopper. Before we go deeper into the topic, let us first have a look at Ramsdale’s stats over his past two seasons with Arsenal.
Ramsdale 2021/22 and 2022/23 stats and performance
Despite arriving with a lot of skepticism, Ramsdale impressed in his debut season and established himself as a key player. Given below are his stats from the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons:
| Season | Mp | XGA | GC | Saves | Save% | Catches | Punches | Keeper Sweepings |
| 21/22 | 34 | 36.86 | 39 | 90 | 69.77% | 22 | 12 | 21 |
| 22/23 | 38 | 42.47 | 43 | 95 | 68.61% | 17 | 14 | 15 |
Ramsdale’s performances in the 21/22 season were impressive and ranked him among the Premier League’s top performers. In particular, his ball skills with the feet quickly earned him the starting role under Arteta and also earned an England debut that season. However, although the 2022/23 was certainly not a poor season for Ramsdale, he failed to relive his debut season performances. Based on his statistics, he ranked among the average mark for Premier League goalkeepers last season.
Reason behind Arteta’s decision to bring in David Raya
Unsurprisingly, the main reason for Arteta’s decision to bring in David Raya is to spark some competition for Aron Ramsdale. Arteta has already employed this same tactic for his other stars across different positions. Arteta brought in Jurrien Timber at right-back to compete with Ben White and brought in Leandro Trossard back in January to compete with Gabriel Martinelli, despite the Brazilian arguably having his best season in his career. Another similar signing was Kai Havertz, as competition for Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus.
Interestingly, this was the same way how Arteta brought in Ramsdale back in 2021 as competition for Bernd Leno and eventually became the number one. Last season as well, Arteta brought in 2021 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Matt Turner, as competition for Ramsdale. Arteta’s decision to bring in Raya at the moment is not to replace Ramsdale but more of bringing out the best from the Englishman. In fact, Ramsdale just recently signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal. Ramsdale will certainly keep his starting role for now, but will see it go to Raya if Arteta sees fit. Another key aspect in the move is Gunners goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana’s role. Inaki was reportedly Raya’s coach back in Brentford before he joined the Emirates and a big fan of the Spaniard.
David Raya stats and abilities
With Arteta set to bring in David Raya, check out his last season’s stats in comparison to Ramsdale:
| Season | Mp | XGA | GC | Saves | Save% | Catches | Punches | Keeper Sweepings |
| Aron Ramsdale | 38 | 42.47 | 43 | 95 | 68.61% | 17 | 14 | 15 |
| David Raya | 38 | 51.78 | 46 | 154 | 77% | 51 | 10 | 22 |
While Raya offers the same skill set as Ramsdale in general, his stats are certainly more impressive in comparison. According to Brentford manager Thomas Frank, Raya was one of the ‘top four goalkeepers’ in the Premier League last season. Moreover, just like Ramsdale, his willingness to play with the ball serves as a key asset of his play.
Arsenal moving in to sign Raya
According to various reports, Arsenal’s interest to sign Raya is certainly genuine and they have already made some moves. The club have already agreed on personal terms with the Spanish stopper. Interestingly, Raya himself is ready to make a move into a harder environment where he is not guaranteed minutes. Raya wants to play in an environment where he has to fight for a starting position and that is exactly someone Arsenal wants.
Despite all these factors, the main reason stopping the move from transpiring is Brentford’s asking price. Back in 2021, Arsenal declined to pay £30m to Raya, and now Brentford are asking for £40m. Although the 27-year-old is now in the final year of his contract, Brentford do not want to sell him cheap. Previously, both Bayern Munich and Tottenham decided to decline pay the same fee for Raya despite the interest. As for now, while there is no guarantee, Arsenal could certainly go all-in to sign Raya.