David Raya reveals the two big changes he made in 2024/25 that made him Arsenal player of the season contender

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David Raya enjoyed a spectacular first campaign as a permanent Arsenal player in 2024/25.

After a mixed debut season whilst on loan at the Emirates, the Spanish goalkeeper signed for the Gunners in a £27 million deal last summer.

Keeping 13 Premier League clean sheets across the campaign, Raya won the Golden Glove for the second consecutive year, capping off a tremendous term for the shot-stopper.

Raya is now a contender for Arsenal’s player of the season award, showcasing his remarkable trajectory from trying to shake off the Aaron Ramsdale comparisons to becoming the undisputed number one and a key player for Mikel Arteta’s team.

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David Raya reveals what he changed in the 2024/25 season

Raya was an unpopular signing for Arsenal when he arrived from Brentford in the summer of 2023, due to the attachment of the Gunners’ faithful to former number one Ramsdale.

A hit-and-miss opening six months in North London didn’t help his cause, with the keeper making a few notable mistakes that sparked debate around whether his acquisition was the right move for Arsenal at the time.

However, an immaculate 2024/25 season has certainly squashed that discourse.

Speaking on Ben Foster’s podcast, Fozcast, Raya revealed that he changed his morning routine and stopped worrying about making mistakes in the latest campaign, which proved to be the catalysts for his change in fortunes.

“I changed my routines in the morning, since I came from pre-season,” he said.

“I started waking up a bit earlier and started doing an ice bath every morning. I wake up at quarter past seven, more or less, and I take the dogs out. I go downstairs and I get ready for a swim, do some mobility in the water.

“I do sauna and ice bath. That takes me about half an hour before training, and I leave around quarter past eight to go to training.

“I think there’s been a lot of studies about cold water in the morning and how it helps to activate your system more quickly, and I think that’s helped me a lot and helped me to recover quicker.

“I think there’s a big change from last season to this season, in my opinion. Last season I was kind of like backing off a little bit and you cannot do that.

“This season I just said, this is me, this is the way I play and if I make mistakes, I’m going to make mistakes no matter what.

“Maybe I didn’t want to risk that pass, or maybe not being that high on the line, or I didn’t want to come for that cross. Now, I just do it.”

David Raya’s statistics 2024/25

Whatever Raya did to improve his form, it worked.

The 29-year-old became significantly more assertive when coming from crosses, with this element of his game a significant part of Arsenal’s defensive success this season.

Not only that, but his distribution improved tenfold this campaign, dictating play from the back with his clips out to the full-backs and line-breaking passes into midfield.

From a shot-stopping perspective, Raya made some remarkable saves, including an outstanding rebound stop from an Ollie Watkins header against Aston Villa in August.

The Gunners have found themselves an excellent figure in between the sticks whom they can rely on.