For David Raya to not be playing for Spain at this summer’s World Cup, you’d expect the Spaniards to have another goalkeeper of such quality that they’re widely considered the best around.
Raya went into the tournament as part of three Spain goalkeepers alongside Unai Simon and Joan Garcia.
Much like Raya with Arsenal, Garcia enjoyed a superb breakout season with Barcelona and is widely regarded by many in Spain as the best the country has.
As for Raya, his third consecutive Golden Glove in the Premier League and 19 clean sheets backed up another superb performance.
However, he has yet to start for Spain at this World Cup. And it appears to be a case of manager favouritism.
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Why David Raya is behind Unai Simon as Spain’s number one
While most of us won’t watch Unai Simon with Athletic Bilbao to know comprehensively that he’s worse than Raya, the basic stats don’t help him.
Simon kept only six clean sheets last season in La Liga, one of the lowest in the league and conceded a whopping 45 goals, nearly double what Raya let in during the league and Europe ALL season.
But, it seems that Raya’s English residency could be the crux of the issue.
In a recent press conference, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente even suggested both he and the rest of Spain actually knew little about Raya.
“We have David Raya, who I’m eager for you to ask me about. In England, they consider him the best goalkeeper in the world, and here nobody talks about him,” the Spanish coach said.
As for Simon, De La Fuente seems to look more than fondly on him.
“It would be unfair if we didn’t value Unai’s quality, class, career, and professional experience. It would be absurd for me to have to come here and reaffirm it, just because he’s Unai Simon. When a goalkeeper is at this level, you have to respect his standing and his career.”
“Unai Simon is indisputable. The others have a lot of talent and class, but everything in its own time.”
So, there we go. It seems Raya won’t be getting a look-in anytime soon over Simon.
In fairness to the Bilbao man, he hasn’t conceded a goal just yet. For Raya, it might just have to be a case of being patient and ultimately, bad timing.
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