David Raya believes Arsenal are ready to build a cushion at the top of the Premier League and compete for multiple trophies after starting the season with three wins from three in Europe.
David Raya says Arsenal’s “incredible” side can challenge for multiple trophies this season. Arsenal are already very high up in the Premier League table and are favorites for the title among bookmakers.
The Gunners also lowered their status as genuine European contenders after defeating Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. And Raya believes Arsenal have the depth, competitiveness and quality to challenge on both fronts to end their six-year wait for a trophy.
Asked if he could be challenged on many fronts, the Arsenal keeper said: “Yes, I think so. I think the depth of the team is incredible.”
“We have a lot of players, a lot of players who can play in two, three, four different positions. Mikel Merino came on as a striker, like against Atlético, but he can also play as a number eight, he can also play as a number 10.”
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“So that’s the versatility that the coach has and he’s using that to our advantage and the best of the team. It looks very, very good, and that depth is very important to us.”
“It also makes you go even further in training and in matches, because if you’re not working on it every day, you can lose your place in a matter of seconds. So it gives you a competitive edge in training and in matches. It’s really, really important and everyone agrees with that.”
It was another clean sheet for Raya against Arsenal, although it was far from a typical ‘1-0 to Arsenal’ European night.
No one expected them to score four goals against Diego Simeone’s side, but Raya says keeping a clean sheet – the ninth so far this season – is just as important as scoring on opponents’ soil.
Raya said: “Clean sheets are always important. I rate them the same as goals. If we keep keeping clean sheets, it will be easier to win games.”
“So not giving too many chances and being very solid is really, really important, especially for the whole team.
“It’s a team effort. It’s a collective effort from the striker to the goalkeeper. So everyone is working on it, everyone doesn’t want to give anything away, everyone wants to intercept the ball before it gets to the halfway line.”
“So if you can intercept that ball, you can do a short counter. It’s really, really important that everyone feels that way and we’re not giving that many chances. It’s perfect.”
“You never know when the other team will have a chance, so you always have to be alert, no matter how we’re playing. I have to be alert for 90 to 100 minutes of every game.”
Raya is known for his play from the back, but his kicks have also increased in duration this season. But while the keeper denies changing his style on purpose, he says sometimes it’s necessary.
He added: “I don’t think we’re kicking the ball that long, but it depends on the time of the game, especially if we’re winning and there’s 10 minutes left. We need to play longer because we don’t want to attract attention and we should try to play from the second ball.”
“But I think especially from the beginning against Atlético, our playing time is very short. So it depends on the game, it depends on the playing time.”
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