David Raya Says 14 Years Prepared Him For Arsenal's Push
David Raya says his last 14 years in England have been building toward this moment. Arsenal lead the Premier League, and the goalkeeper now goes into a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid with the club chasing more than one front of silverware.
Raya's 14-Year Build
"I haven't just spent the last year preparing to compete for the Premier League and the Champions League; I've spent 14 years working and preparing for this," Raya said. The 30-year-old first moved to England in 2014 when he joined Blackburn Rovers, then moved to Brentford in 2019 and helped them win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history in 2021 before joining Arsenal in 2023.
His own view of that stretch is personal as well as professional. "The sense of maturity and the lessons I've learned here – not just professionally but personally, too – are things I wouldn't have experienced in Spain," he said. "Perhaps I'd be a different person, or think differently, because the way I am is largely down to how my parents raised me, but also very much down to what I've learned during these 14 years abroad."
Arsenal's Defensive Core
Raya's season numbers back up the claim that he has arrived at Arsenal ready for a title run. He has 16 league clean sheets and is on course to win his third consecutive Golden Glove award. Arsenal have also gone unbeaten in their last 12 matches in all competitions, with 10 wins and 2 draws.
That run has been built on a back line that has tightened when the stakes have risen. In the 22 Champions League games started together by Raya, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, Arsenal have conceded 11 goals and kept 13 clean sheets. Arsenal are one game away from equalling their longest unbeaten run in the European Cup or Champions League, the 13-game stretch they set between March 2005 and April 2006.
Atletico Madrid In Madrid
The next test comes on Wednesday in Madrid, where Arsenal open their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid. Raya did not soften the task ahead, saying, "We know that Atletico are a great team; it's going to be a very tough match in Madrid."
He added, "We have to show that Arsenal are here to fight for a place in the final." For Arsenal, that means carrying a league lead and a defensive record into a week that could sharpen both their title charge and their European run at the same time.
