David Raya took the number one goalkeeping spot at Arsenal after joining last year, but is yet to do the same for the Spain National Team.
Raya excelled in North London in recent months after a shaky start to his Arsenal career, winning the Premier League Golden Glove and helping solidify the best defence in the division.
The 28-year-old was something of a surprise addition from Brentford last summer, and he initially caused debate when he usurped Aaron Ramsdale in the pecking order under Mikel Arteta. However, he has since grown into the role, with his aggressive positioning and distribution of great benefit to Arsenal.
He is still the second-choice pick for Spain, with Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon the preferred choice, but Raya was handed an opportunity in their final Euro 2024 group game against Albania, and he gave an excellent account of himself.
Fans delighted with David Raya performance in Spain Euro victory over Albania
Spain have impressed at the tournament so far, and qualified for the knockouts as group winners after their second match, meaning that Luis De La Fuente made 10 changes to his starting XI.
Raya came in for the final game, which saw Spain see off Albania 1-0 after a first-half goal from Ferran Torres, and the Arsenal star played a crucial part in the victory with several superb saves, which fans were quick to notice.
“Bro is keeping his Arsenal’s form. Great performance from David Raya. Clean sheet,” one fan posted on X.
With Raya’s critics often claiming that the strong Arsenal defence carries him, fans pointed out that he is capable of performing even without William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes in front of him.
“Cleansheet follows David Raya everywhere he goes. He made 3 crucial saves to keep it this time. No Arsenal defence to carry him, no problem.”
Raya’s performance was so good that some fans even think he deserves to keep his spot in the National side.
“Facts: David Raya is better than Unai Simon,” one posted.
“I understand the fact that it’s difficult to change the starting goalkeepers at international level. Aside that, I don’t see why Unai Simon is playing ahead of David Raya. Raya is obviously the better goalkeeper,” another added.
David Raya unlikely to keep Spain spot despite strong display
Raya performed superbly against Albania, with four crucial saves, which also saw him hold onto the ball well rather than parrying into danger.
His passing was also excellent, completing five long balls and helping launch Spain attacks with his quick distribution.
Despite his strong display, it seems unlikely that Spain will let him continue in place of the usual number one in Simon. With Spain yet to concede at the tournament, and winning all three games, there is little need to cause disruption to the side for the knockout stages.
Arsenal winners and losers at Euro 2024
Raya has enjoyed his brief taste of action at Euro 2024, but there are plenty of other players Arteta will be keeping an eye on.
In this week’s episode, Will Jones and Rahul Lakhani discussed the first few days of the European Championships. With Arsenal players such as Kai Havertz and Kieran Tierney experiencing mixed starts to the tournament, the pair assessed which Gunners were the winners and losers from the group stages so far.
There was some talk about transfers based off the Euros, with Arsenal-linked Amadou Onana’s display for Belgium discussed, whilst Leandro Trossard’s poor performance was analysed, and Bukayo Saka’s sensational England showing lauded.