Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was superb in 2024, and earned the Premier League Golden Glove to cap off a fine season.
Raya initially struggled when he unexpectedly replaced Aaron Ramsdale at the start of the season, and he was harshly criticised after making several errors.
However, he then turned his form around in the best way possible, showing why Mikel Arteta brought him in as Raya impressed with his speedy distribution and aggression in the air.
Arsenal were superb defensively, with Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba particularly standing out, but Raya also deserves credit for his side’s incredible record, which saw them concede just nine goals in 18 games in the league this calendar year, but he is still not recognised for his outstanding performances.
David Raya snubbed from top 10 goalkeepers list despite strong Arsenal form
Arsenal had arguably the best defence in European football in 2024, with the centre-backs near-impossible to beat, and Raya was a huge part of this.
However, despite Saliba being recognised as arguably the best defender in the Premier League, Raya is yet to gain anywhere near as much credit. ESPN have now released their list of the 10 best goalkeepers in the world, and Raya was nowhere to be seen.
Gianluigi Donnarumma of PSG, Lucas Hradecky of Bayer Leverkusen, Yann Sommer of Inter Milan, Mike Maignan of AC Milan, Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich, Marc Andre Ter Stegen of Barcelona, Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid, Ederson of Manchester City, former Arsenal flop Emi Martinez and Liverpool’s Alisson make up the top 10, and Raya has outperformed several of these players this season.
Is David Raya overly criticised at Arsenal?
Most, if not all of the goalkeepers on the list have made high-profile errors this season, but none have harmed their perception in the same way that Raya’s mistakes, well over six months ago now, still haunt him.
Arsenal reached the Champions League quarter-finals, a stage a lot of goalkeepers on the list did not reach, whilst they also took the Premier League title race to the final day.
Raya was instrumental in the Champions League knockout victory over Porto, whilst some of the goalkeepers selected ahead of him made key errors in big moments.
Alisson is perhaps rightly the top of the list, but even he has made errors similar to some of Raya’s, with the Brazilian at fault for Gabriel Martinelli’s goal as Liverpool lost at Arsenal.
Raya and Arteta will hope that a strong start to next season is enough to change the perception around the Spaniard, to earn more recognition as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.