Arsenal signed David Raya on loan with an option to buy in the summer, but his inconsistent start to life in North London raised questions about his long-term future.
Mikel Arteta caused an uneasy situation as he replaced fan favourite Aaron Ramsdale with Raya, and having both goalkeepers in the squad has done neither player any favours as they have both faced increased scrutiny.
Raya has had an underwhelming first few months at Arsenal, as several high-profile errors have seen calls for the Spaniard to be replaced by Ramsdale again, but the England international has not been given a look-in since he was initially dropped.
Raya joined on an initial loan deal from Brentford with a £27m option to buy, and some fans questioned whether this deal could be cancelled, or the option to buy ignored at the end of the season, but Fabrizio Romano has now put any talk of this to bed.
Fabrizio Romano explains why David Raya will stay at Arsenal
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Romano revealed that Arsenal have already agreed a deal to complete Raya’s permanent move.
“It will be soon. From what I’ve heard, it’s already agreed, so I don’t know when they will make it official,” he stated.
“It’s something that they already agreed in the summer. The Raya deal was going to be permanent at the beginning, but they had to change the structure of the deal because of Financial Fair Play.
“Brentford decided to help Arsenal with that, but it is not going to change anything. The deal will be made permanent.”
David Raya permanent deal was inevitable at Arsenal
It is clear that Arteta backs Raya over Ramsdale as his number-one goalkeeper despite his errors, and the deal to bring him to the Emirates was always going to be made permanent regardless of what happened this season.
Raya has shown flashes of what he can do with his long-kicking, but fans have questioned whether any upgrade he provides over Ramsdale is big enough to have justified what has become a messy situation with both goalkeepers.
If the 28-year-old can eventually hit the form he did at Brentford last season, then he will find his popularity at Arsenal grows, but until then, he will have to up his game in order to get the sceptical fanbase on board with his arrival in the team.
The deal was an initial loan to help Arsenal with their financial fair play issues, which are currently preventing the club from making significant additions in January, and if there were no such problems, it seems that the deal would have been a permanent one from the start.
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