David Raya is now doing one key thing to ‘impress’ Mikel Arteta and help Arsenal dominate

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has finally settled well at the club, and has claimed the number one spot from Aaron Ramsdale.

Mikel Arteta’s decision to bring him in, and eventually drop Ramsdale was met with scepticism, and with Raya initially struggling, questions were raised about what Arteta saw in the Spaniard.

However, in recent weeks he has been phenomenal, with his distribution proving vital to Arsenal’s build-up play, and his outstanding ability at claiming crosses has helped his side form the best defensive unit in the Premier League.

A stat has now emerged which shows the impact Raya has had on the team compared to Ramsdale last season, which will have impressed Arteta.

David Raya helps Arsenal press higher up the pitch

A report from The Athletic has now highlighted that Arsenal have progressively set a higher defensive line yearly under Arteta.

Last season, with Ramsdale in goal, Arsenal’s average defensive line was 28 metres away from their goal, an increase on the previous year’s average of 25 metres.

However, this season, Raya has helped push this up to 30 metres, with his aggressive style and ability in the air allowing William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes to push further forward, with Gabriel notably making more charges forward on the ball.

“His (Raya’s positioning in a more general sense has also helped Arsenal squeeze even further up the pitch in their quest to suffocate teams. This was something Ramsdale was helping with during his two seasons as first choice, as Arteta still deploys very similar pressing structures. Raya has improved on that,” journalist Art De Roche claimed.

“Even if it is a marginal gain, this will impress Arteta as it is a contributing factor to more domination.”

David Raya’s aggressive style sets him apart from Aaron Ramsdale

Raya tends to push a lot further forward off his line, and whilst he has been caught out, with Mykhaylo Mudryk and Wanderson Galeno scoring long-range efforts against him when pressing high, the reward is greater than the risk.

His aggressive positioning allows him to be in the best place to start quick counterattacks, and set the likes of Gabriel Martinelli up with key passes.

Although Ramsdale was a strong performer for Arsenal last season, Raya has helped the Gunners reach a different level both defensively and in attack with this key attribute, and this does explain why Arteta chose to make the ruthless decision to bring him in.