Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya is yet to become the first-choice goalkeeper for his national side. He has been on fire since joining the Gunners. Raya had 16 clean sheets in 32 appearances in the Premier League last season. He also won the Golden Gloves award for his performances.
But Spanish manager Luis de la Fuente still prefers Athletic Club‘s Unai Simon over him. However, Simon’s contribution in the Euro 2024 winning campaign have justified his choice. He was one of the best goalkeepers in the competition as he secured three clean sheets.
For the future it seems Raya have to work harder to gain his place in the national side. However, Simon suffered a serious injury on his right wrist after the Euros. It will keep him out of the ground for at least 3-4 months. So, that is why Raya is the starting goalkeeper in Spain’s Nations League fixtures against Serbia & Switzerland.
Raya managed to keep a clean sheet against Serbia last week which resulted in a goalless draw. Yesterday Spain faced Switzerland away from home. Both teams were hungry for their first win of the campaign. Spaniards defeated the Swiss in a 4-1 margin after a wonderful performance by Fabian Ruiz and other superstars.
Despite conceding a goal Raya put up a solid performance. The Spanish media even praised Raya for his ‘confident’ glove work.
Media’s reaction to the goalkeeper’s performance
It may seem like the European champions had a easy game as they scored 4 goals. But Switzerland dominated possession in the game. Spain played with 10 players on the field after Robin Le Normand got sent off for his challenge on Embolo in the 20th minute. But Raya done his job significantly to deny the Swiss attackers to score.
Spanish source Marca provided a detailed report on Raya’s performance against Switzerland. The report says, ” David made a great save to prevent Vargas’s goal with another of his trademark dives.”
“He was unable to do anything about Amdouni’s goal, who was completely alone on the corner after breaking free from his marker.”
They continued to praise Raya as in the second half he was reliable to block or clear anything that came into his way. They gave Raya an 8/10 overall rating for his performance and added, ” Great game from the Arsenal goalkeeper.”
Raya also received a lot of praise from El Diaro Vasco. They believe he played a ‘formidable’ role in the build up to Ruiz’s second goal as he played a brilliant pass to Ferran while distributing the ball.
AS didn’t hold back to compliment the 28 year old for his performance. They said the Raya has something that makes a ‘good goalkeeper even greater.’
Goal also showed appreciation towards Raya performance as they believe he displayed a positive game replacing Unai and showed a lot of confidence in claiming high balls.
What’s next for Raya
After a strong performance in the national break Raya will head to the North London. Arsenal will be having a tough challenge as they will be participating in three different competitions ahead of this month. They will be facing the Spurs & Man City in the Premier League and Atalanta in the Champions League in span of two weeks. Raya will certainly play a key role for the Gunners during this challenging period.
However, the international break will start again next month. Spain will be facing Denmark on 13th and Serbia again on 16th of October. In the absence of Simon, Raya will definitely start those games.
When Raya joined Arsenal, Ramsdale was the first choice goalkeeper for the Gunners. But Raya’s brilliant performances stolen the tag away from the Englishman. He will be looking forward to do the same to Simon to challenge the spot.
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