Arsenal have a number of quality operators in the current squad and Jamie Carragher believes one particular player has put himself top of the Premier League tree.
With Declan Rice among those mentioned to win the player of the year and the defensive duo of Gabriel and William Saliba also getting high praise all season, it’s easy to ignore some of the other players.
However, in David Raya, Arsenal have found themselves a goalkeeper who does everything the modern stopper needs to.
And according to Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher, Raya is now the best in the league.
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Jamie Carragher says David Raya now better than Gianluigi Donnarumma
When Arsenal paid £27m to Brentford to sign Raya, there were some out there who questioned the logic of such a move.
However, since coming to the club, Raya has got better and better and we now seem a million miles from the debate around him and Aaron Ramsdale from a few seasons back.
Indeed, speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher believes Raya is now the top dog.
“A former coach of Brentford with David Raya also moved to Arsenal so probably gave them a bit of an insight into how good he was. But he’s been a revelation,” Carragher said.
“I think on this show, a couple of months ago we made a big play about whose goalkeeper would you want to go with and win the league. So Donnarumma and Man City and then Raya, and he’s certainly won that battle. He’s the best goalkeeper in the Premier League and arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the world.”
David Raya’s stats since signing for Arsenal
Since signing for Arsenal, Raya has been nothing short of magnificent and the stats back it up.
He’s now won three consecutive golden glove awards and this season alone he has kept a whopping 27 clean sheets in 51 appearances across all competitions.
That builds on 18 last season and 20 in his first season, meaning he’s kept a total of 65 clean sheets since signing for the club.
As well as his tremendous ability to keep the ball out of the net, Raya also excels in terms of being able to play the ball with his feet. Like so many modern goalkeepers, it’s a key skill to have and Raya does it better than anyone in the Premier League.
Put simply, he will go down as one of Mikel Arteta’s best ever buys.
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