David Raya is one of the latest Arsenal first-team players after joining the Gunners in August 2023 from Brentford, so here is everything that you need to know about him.
The north London giants raided the Bees for Raya as manager Mikel Arteta pushed for a new shot-stopper. Arsenal welcomed the Spaniard to Emirates Stadium in an initial loan move for £3m. But Brentford agreed to include a £27m option to buy as Arsenal dealt with FFP limits.
Raya also signed a new contract at the Gtech Community Stadium to facilitate the deal as he was otherwise a free agent in June 2024. It then took him just three Premier League fixtures to oust Aaron Ramsdale as Arsenal’s No1 goalkeeper after securing Arteta’s unyielding trust.
Moving to Arsenal added a fifth club to Raya’s CV after four years at Brentford. He joined the Bees from Blackburn Rovers in 2019 – four years after breaking through at Ewood Park as an academy product. The ex-Cornella Youth talent also had a brief loan at Southport in 2014.
Raya left Spain for England to join Blackburn’s academy in 2012 and would go on to play 108 first-team games for Rovers. The ‘keeper would also get 161 outings for Brentford, including as they won promotion from the Championship. But who is Raya really outside of football?
How old is Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya?
At the time of writing, Arsenal ace David Raya is 29 years old. He was born on September 15, 1999 to his parents Antonio and Trini, who did not move to England when Raya did aged 16.
Where was David Raya born?
David Raya was born in the Catalan municipality of Palleja, which is nearly a 20-minute drive from Barcelona. The goalkeeper got his first Spain appearance at any level when he debuted against Albania in March 2022, held at Espanyol’s stadium in front of his friends and family.
How tall is David Raya? What is his height in feet?
David Raya measures in at 1.83 metres tall, or standing at a height of 6ft in feet.
David Raya’s girlfriend
David Raya has been dating his girlfriend, Tatiana Trouboul, since October 2021. But the pair did not make their relationship public until June 2022. She is also Catalan, like Raya, and has worked as a model. Trouboul often shares pictures from her travels with Raya on Instagram.
David Raya’s grandfather
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta helped make David Raya’s grandfather a star of his own when the goalkeeper joined the Gunners. Arteta gifted a then 91-year-old Joaquin an Arsenal jersey of his own. Joaquin said the moment was ‘my biggest dream’ as he posed with Arteta and Edu.
David Raya’s tattoo
David Raya joining Arsenal marked a somewhat awkward moment for the goalkeeper as the Spaniard has a tattoo of the date Brentford beat the Gunners on his neck. He sought to have ‘13-08-2021’ on his neck after helping the Bees to a 2-0 win on their Premier League debut.
Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard scored to stun Arsenal when Brentford hosted their first top-flight fixture in 74 years. Raya started in the Bees’ goal that night after helping the west London club secure promotion in the 2020/21 Championship play-offs against Swansea City.
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