Mikel Arteta immediately tapped him on the back after responding to questions about David Raya’s record since becoming Arsenal’s No. 1 goalkeeper two years ago.
Mikel Arteta welcomes David Raya’s record at Arsenal and feels he is vindicateing his decision to sign him from Brentford. Raya will host Nottingham Forest on Saturday and will reach 100 appearances alongside Gunner when it becomes an integral part of the improvements under Arteta.
The Spanish goalkeeper joined Arsenal on his first £3 million loan deal for the 2023/24 season, making the Switch permanent for £27 million last summer. He maintained 41 seats in 99 appearances for the side of Arteta, who has boasted the highest defensive record in the Premier League for the second consecutive season.
Raya had held 11 Premier League clean sheets to help Brentford finish ninth in 2022/23, but some doubted his quality. At 6 feet, the 29-year-old lacks the height of another goalkeeper, and his signature was questioned by several experts at the time.
Raya grew up on Arteta’s pre-match press conference on Friday, and Arteta initially had a bliss to suggest that Raya’s clean sheet record was “pretty good.” He shot back: “Is it pretty good? It’s the best in football club history.”
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He then smiled and added: “It’s incredible – and I was hammered when I brought him. That’s a point of view as well. It’s very good to understand the game, especially when months or years have passed. Arteta said the question mark was purely an external summer when he replaced Aaron Ramsdale with Raya. “I think he had a huge impact on the team, obviously with the help of everyone,” he said. “Congratulations (to him), because it’s the exception that he did during that period.”
Arteta will be his first Saturday match against Nottingham Forest since the end of the summer transfer period. Gunners have spent more than £260 million to sign Kepa Alizabaraga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgado, Noni Madueke, Christian Mosquera, Victor Gyoker, Ebebeki Eze and Piero Hincapie.
He asked how he felt about his work in the window. Arteta said:
“And finally, we were able to take the opportunity to accomplish what we wanted, thank some of the players who left us a few years later, and to have made a huge contribution to the club and team.
“(We) hope they all. And now we’re making it clear. This is the team that will be here until at least January. I’m very pleased with it.”
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