When Arsenal signed David Raya on loan from Brentford last summer, eyebrows were raised.
After all, Aaron Ramsdale had performed admirably under Mikel Arteta – barring the odd error. Very few felt the north London giants needed a new shot-stopper with the England international in their ranks.
Not Arteta, however.
With the Spaniard relentless in his pursuit of silverware, the decision was made to change things up. Raya came in, with Ramsdale demoted to the bench.
Arsenal’s decision to invest an overall fee of £30million in David Raya has paid off following their Champions League draw with Atalanta
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Initially, the goalkeeper’s start to life at the Emirates Stadium was a turbulent one. Not everybody was convinced that Arsenal had made the right decision.
Jamie Carragher even went as far to label Raya a ‘massive problem’ for the Gunners after he made an error in a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle.
However, his form since has been outstanding.
And if it hadn’t been for the 29-year-old’s brilliant performance against Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday night, their unbeaten start to the campaign would be over.
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Raya made a brilliant double save during the clash to keep the Serie A side at bay.
The former Brentford goalkeeper initially saved a penalty from Mateo Retegui after Thomas Partey had fouled Ederson inside the area.
And Raya then showed outstanding reflexes to get up off the floor and save from Retegui on the rebound.
With the Spaniard impressing between the sticks in Arsenal’s previous four outings this season, Arteta’s gamble has clearly paid off.
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They initially paid a fee of £3million to loan in Raya before making the deal permanent for an extra £27m earlier in the summer.
Money well spent, it seems.
After all, top goalkeepers aren’t always cheap. Just ask Manchester United, who splurged a massive £47.2m on Andre Onana 12 months ago.
The Red Devils, a whole year on, are still waiting for bang for their buck.
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Arsenal star David Raya made a brilliant double save during his side’s Champions League draw with Atalanta
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But with Raya and Arsenal it’s different.
Signing him and offloading Ramsdale may be the decision that ends up helping the club win their first piece of silverware in five years next summer.
And Arteta has blown away by Raya’s heroics on Thursday night, with the Arsenal boss hailing his goalkeeper for his moment of magic.
“We gave a lot of simple balls away,” he said. “But we didn’t suffer defensively. That’s the reality.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was full of praise for David Raya after his outstanding double save against Atalanta
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“Then I witnessed two of the best saves of my career from David in that moment.”
On if Ramsdale’s exit had given Raya more confidence, he added: “That’s a question for him. Certainly last year was already very impressive.
“Even with that different context for sure. This season he’s been exceptional. The save he made against Villa and today kept us in the game.
“You need that from a goalkeeper at this level. I’m really happy he’s in that form at the moment.”