Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya faced a difficult start to life in North London after he replaced the popular Aaron Ramsdale.
Raya joined on an initial loan deal from Brentford to the surprise of many, and replaced Ramsdale in the starting XI.
However, his initial performances for Arsenal were somewhat shaky, as he made several errors including a horror-show in a 4-3 victory at Luton Town. Fans were bewildered at why Mikel Arteta had made the change, with Ramsdale a fairly solid performer in the previous campaign.
Raya then dramatically improved, and it quickly became clear why he was brought in, with his aggressive positioning, top-class distribution and aerial dominance helping establish him as the number one option.
The Spaniard’s arrival saw him link up with Arsenal goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana again after working together at Brentford. Cana has been criticised for his role in some goalkeeper signings including Runar Alex Runarrsson, but Raya has now praised him.
David Raya praises Arsenal coach Inaki Cana for helping him improve
Speaking to Sky Sports, Raya explained how Cana helped him develop his game to become the goalkeeper he is now.
“He has changed my style of being a goalkeeper,” Raya explained.
“If you watch highlights from me when I was back at Blackburn, you will see a keeper that just stood on the line, not coming for anything, rarely going for a cross, rarely going outside the box, rarely anticipating, just waiting to make that save.
“When I signed for Brentford, Iñaki just completely changed my style of being a goalkeeper, to be more proactive and anticipate stuff that has not happened yet.
“So, if you can go for a cross, just go for it. Don’t wait for the save. Instead, avoid the chance. For balls in behind and all that, stay high as much as possible to be able to cut out the attack.
“If you see me at Blackburn and then after I signed for Brentford, it’s two completely different goalkeepers. At Blackburn, I wasn’t going for any crosses. And then at Brentford and here, I think my numbers on crosses are remarkable.”
David Raya’s excellence on crosses has been game-changing for Arsenal
Raya’s aggressive style sees him snuff out crosses before they can become chances, in a high-risk, high-reward strategy.
This means that Raya does sometimes position himself further forward than a typical goalkeeper, and there have been a couple of occasions where this has been questioned.
Mykhaylo Mudryk scored directly from a cross in Arsenal’s draw at Chelsea last season, whilst Raya was criticised after conceding a last-minute winner to Porto from a long-range effort in the Champions League.
However, Arsenal’s incredible defensive record in 2024 was in no small part down to Raya’s aggressive style. Whilst William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have received plaudits for their performances, Raya allows both to push higher up, and provides additional aerial support on set-pieces when dealing with crosses.
Raya has come into his own after a difficult start at Arsenal, and he now looks set to bring some stability to the goalkeeping position, which has seen constant change under Arteta.
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