David Raya says he has already thought about life after Arsenal – ‘Let’s see what happens’

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Arsenal got back to winning ways in the best possible fashion with a crucial 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur to move the Gunners to within four points of leaders Liverpool.

Arsenal dominated the North London Derby and could and should have made the score line more comfortable with Gabriel Magalhaes a threat from set-pieces once again and Leandro Trossard firing the winner.

Mikel Arteta’s men are now unbeaten in six games against Spurs and have won three consecutive games against their rivals – an Arsenal record that hasn’t been achieved in 36 years.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was ‘unbelievable’ in his performance and once again goalkeeper David Raya was commanding in his box and helped to relieve some late pressure from the away side. Raya also opened up about his career in the matchday programme.

READ MORE: Referee mistake, Lewis-Skelly reaction – Five things you missed from Arsenal v Tottenham

David Raya would like to become a future coach

Speaking in the Official Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur Matchday Programme, goalkeeper Raya has been speaking about life after Arsenal and how he still wants to remain in the game.

Raya stated: “I did my UEFA B last season here at the club. Now I want to start the goalie UEFA B course this month and take it from there.”

The Spaniard, who has been in sensational form for the Gunners this season, then revealed his plans upon retiring. He stated: “I think I would like to be either a specialised goalie coach or a regular coach at some point in the future.”

Arsenal’s number one certainly seems to have the required attributes to become a coach as he is often seen organising and motivating those around him. His slightly peculiar career path to North London will have given him the experience needed to coach in different contexts.

David Raya’s incredible path to playing for Arsenal

David Raya has proven Arteta right for trusting him to replace previous number one Aaron Ramsdale and the resilience shown by Raya through some tough periods at Arsenal stems from a challenging career path.

The Gunners goalkeeper moved to England when he was just 16 and after initially signing for Blackburn Rovers, Raya wanted to move on loan to non-league Southport to get some first-team action.

On his time at Southport, Raya explained: “My loan made me realise as well how the lower leagues work. I was at Blackburn, used to having everything done for me as a young player, then you go down the leagues and you realise you have to do everything for yourself.”

Raya went on to explain that he ‘learned a lot’ from his spell at Southport and gives a lot of credit to the learning curve on making him the outstanding goalkeeper that he is today.

Should Raya move into coaching, he has acquired experience at a number of levels of the football pyramid, something that will be vital if he chooses to embark on another career path in the future.