Spain has a number of quality goalkeepers, with Unai Simón number one, but Luis de la Fuente believes Arsenal’s David Raya needs more recognition for his brilliance.
Luis de la Fuente defended the quality of Arsenal’s David Raya
Spanish national team coach Luis de la Fuente claimed that “no one talks about him” and questioned why David Raya is not being talked about more as the country’s No. 1 player.
The Arsenal goalkeeper established himself as first choice at the Emirates after joining the club from Brentford in 2023. He is now key to their ambitions and could end the season as Premier League winners.
At home, he faces stiff competition from the likes of Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon, Barcelona’s Joao Garcia and Real Sociedad’s Alex Remiro.
Simon has been Spain’s first choice for the last few years, starting two summers ago as Spain lifted Euro 2024 glory, conceding four goals in seven games en route to glory. Although he remains No. 1, de la Fuente believes Raya needs to be valued more as a reliable replacement.
He said: “It would be unfair not to appreciate Unai’s qualities, his class, his career, his professional experience. It’s unreasonable that I have to come here and reaffirm that just because he is Unai Simon. When a goalkeeper is at this level, you have to respect his position and his career.”
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“And we have David Raya, who we would love to hear about. In England we consider him the best goalkeeper in the world, but here no one talks about him. The same goes for Joao Garcia and Alex Remiro, let’s be fair. But there is no argument with Unai Simon. The other players have a lot of talent and class, but everything is happening at the right time.”
Simon was given the full 90 minutes as La Roja won a 3-0 friendly against Serbia on Friday night. Raya and Remiro were both on the bench, but with the next match against Egypt on Tuesday, substitutions could be made to give other players a chance to impress.
David Raya aims to become Spain’s No.1
De la Fuente admits that goalkeeper changes need to be done carefully. This is a highly specialized position and is closely related to confidence and safety.
“The best news is I have no doubts,” he said. “I have complete confidence in them. They have something special. The best news is to see all four goalkeepers hugging each other and encouraging each other, regardless of who was left out.”
“Unai Simon is Unai Simon, Raya is a great goalkeeper and Alex Remiro is equally good. We’ll see what happens between now and Tuesday, but I have no doubts. The only regret is missing one person.”
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