Robert Pires names the ‘fantastic’ Arsenal player who’s become so important for Mikel Arteta’s team

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Arsenal now have a plethora of talent in their squad, but there is one unsung hero, and Robert Pires has been singing his praises.

Mikel Arteta has assembled one of the most impressive squads in Europe, and the Gunners look ready to finally get over the line in the race for the Premier League title.

Arsenal currently lead the Premier League by four points, ahead of Manchester City, with the North London derby up next.

Speaking ahead of the weekend’s clash, Robert Pires has singled out one Gunners star as one of the key players for Arteta’s side.

Robert Pires is a big fan of Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya

Pires has revealed that he is a big fan of Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya and spoke about the importance of the defence.

The Spanish goalkeeper has been seriously impressive this term, with Gary Lineker calling Raya the best goalkeeper in the world.

The North London club have the best defensive record in the Premier League so far, conceding just five goals in their first 11 matches.

Going into the 2-2 draw with Sunderland, Arsenal had gone 13 hours without conceding before the ex-Hale End graduate, Dan Ballard, ended that run.

Asked by TalkSPORT what was the most important part of this current Arsenal team, Pires said: “For me, the priority is the Premier League. Because the last trophy was a long time ago, it was with me and Jens (Lehmann).

“The most important thing is the defence. In my time, the defence was good, the goalkeeper as well. Raya is fantastic. All the players play very well.”

Meanwhile, Jens Lehmann was asked whether Raya was Arsenal’s best goalkeeper since him: “Oh yeah, probably.

“But at the end of the day, I think the whole team has to win something this year, and then you can judge a little bit more. Because having a good period is good, but winning something is different.

“But this year they have to deliver because they are superb now, next week they’re playing against another fantastic team, probably the two best teams in the world right now, Bayern Munich and Arsenal. But it’s only November, they need to be up there in May.”

David Raya leads the Premier League Golden Glove race

Raya is currently leading the race for the Premier League Golden Glove, with seven clean sheets in his first 11 matches this season.

His fellow countryman and Chelsea shot-stopper Robert Sanchez is surprisingly just one behind him, with the Arsenal star bidding to win the award back-to-back.

Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma will be another goalkeeper he must be wary of, with the Italian having kept four clean sheets in eight games.