Arsenal have ɾєρօɾτedly completed the signing of Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, who will provide competition for Aaron Ramsdale this season.
The Spaniard started all of the Bees’ Premier League matches last term and with just one year remaining on his contract, Thomas Frank has opted to sell him now rather than lose him on a free transfer.
Raya kept an impressive 12 clean sheets in 2022/23 and conceded just 46 goals. He also made more saves than any other keeper in the division.
It is believed that Arsenal will pay approximately £30m for the shot-stopper.This comes after Mikel Arteta sanctioned the exit of backup keeper Matt Turner, who is set to join Nottingham Forest.
Raya is undoubtedly an upgrade on Turner and could even break into Arteta’s starting XI if Ramsdale has a run of poor form for the Gunners. It’s also likely Raya will represent the London club in cup matches.
His switch to Arsenal was confirmed by reputed transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano. OnTwitter,he wrote: “Arsenal have reached an agreement to sign David Raya, here we go! Ԁєɑł agreed with Brentford after personal terms last week.
“Documents being prepared between the clubs, medical to be booked this week. Raya only wanted to join Arsenal.
“Total package of the David Raya Ԁєɑł will be close to £30m total package fee, being clarified in the next hours.Raya will sign a contract until June 2028 at Arsenal.
“Brentford make a huge profit, they signed Raya for £2.7m from Blackburn in 2019.”
Raya becomes Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer window after bringing in Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice.
Arteta will hope that those additions will help his team compete among Europe’s elite in the Champions League, and bridge the gap with Manchester City in the Premier League.
Raya certainly has the quality to make a difference at Arsenal but as mentioned, he is likely to be second choice to Ramsdale, at least for now.
Barring any dramatic last-minute twists, the 27-year-old will be confirmed as a new Gunners player imminently and will be in the squad for their Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
