David Raya is enjoying the finest season of his career, yet the Arsenal goalkeeper finds himself in the curious position of being one of the best keepers in the world while remaining second choice for Spain.
The Spaniard is on track to win a third consecutive Premier League Golden Glove, which would make him only the second player after compatriot Pepe Reina to achieve that feat. Across all competitions, Raya has kept an extraordinary 21 clean sheets in 40 games, with 15 of those coming in the league, more than any other goalkeeper in Europe.
His form has been central to Arsenal’s bid for a first Premier League title in 22 years, and their progress to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they beat Bayer Leverkusen. After keeping another clean sheet in that tie, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was effusive in his praise. “This guy should be in contention to be player of the season because what he does for Arsenal every single time is outstanding,” Henry said. “He can make you hope that you’re not losing by making saves, and he does that two to three times every single game.”
Teammate Declan Rice was equally fulsome, pointing to Raya’s work ethic in training as the foundation of his performances. “The intensity he trains at, the level he trains at, there is no reason why he is not doing what he is doing on the pitch,” Rice said. “He has turned into a real leader for us and when you have a keeper like that it gives everyone confidence.”
Raya has been nominated for both Premier League Player of the Month and Save of the Month for March and is expected to be in the running for end-of-season individual awards.
Despite all of that, when he links up with the Spanish national team for friendlies against Serbia and Egypt, he will do so as backup to Athletic Club’s Unai Simon, who remains Luis de la Fuente’s first choice between the posts.
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