By Rob Worthington (Deputy Editor)
Many Arsenal fans would’ve been fairly surprised if you’d have told them at the start of the transfer window that their club would explore a move for Brentford’s David Raya this summer. But it’s late July, the Spaniard remains unsettled at Brentford, and Arsenal smell blood. Moving to sign David Raya would be a truly ruthless move from the Gunners. The Brentford goalkeeper has attracted interest from the likes of Spurs, Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich this summer, and Arsenal are known to be long-term admirers. As the other interested parties have continued to ponder or move elsewhere, an opportunity has presented itself to Arsenal. That said, despite Raya’s obvious quality, a move from Arsenal to sign the 27-year-old would be a strange one. Aaron Ramsdale signed a new deal with Arsenal just a few months ago, and it wouldn’t appear a move away for current capable no. 2 Matt Turner is imminent. Spending a fee in the region of £40m on Raya would be a peculiar use of resource. Arsenal are quite clearly in a position where they feel comfortable in the market. They’ve got the absolutely necessary business out the way – adding quality depth in midfield and defence – now it feels like they’re in bonus territory. They’re waiting for opportunities to arise rather than actively pursuing targets. And Raya’s availability fits into that category of a timely opportunity. Recent criticism of Aaron Ramsdale has doubtless been overblown, but his distribution isn’t quite where it has been at the moment. While his shotstopping has come on leaps and bounds, his passing appears to have taken a back seat position in his development process at Arsenal. Perhaps Arsenal thus feel that Raya and Ramsdale’s profiles would complement each other’s nicely. They would be right to feel that way. Ramsdale’s best qualities in his current state are his shot stopping (especially from range) and his long-distance distribution. Not many goalkeepers in world football can punt it quite as far as Ramsdale can, if any. Raya specialises in precision when it comes to his distribution. He doesn’t kick the ball quite as far as Ramsdale, but his clipped balls into the midfielders and defenders are a little more accurate. As for shot stopping, he profiled better than Ramsdale last season, boasting a post shot xG of +5. Ramsdale’s stood at -2 last term. Despite being highly rated in many quarters and having a particularly high ceiling, Ramsdale isn’t a better goalkeeper than David Raya at the moment. It’s a move which highlights the ambition of Arsenal Football Club. They clearly feel they can go toe to toe with Manchester City to compete for the title again this season, but this signing could cause more problems than it solves. Every club wants healthy competition in every position on the pitch. It’s what you need to compete for the Premier League title these days. But goalkeeper isn’t an area where that is essential. One will always play considerably more than the other. As such, for an extended period of this season if Arsenal get Raya, Raya or Ramsdale will be frustrated. One of the great things about this current Arsenal squad is the morale. The synergy. Rotation occurs frequently enough to keep everyone happy, and the signings Arsenal have made thus far this summer won’t change that. Signing Raya could damage that squad harmony at some point this term. This pursuit screams of ambition from Arsenal. Signing a premium goalkeeping talent to compete with a player with as high a ceiling as Ramsdale does sounds brilliant on paper. But it just isn’t necessary. There are other ways to light a fire under Aaron Ramsdale if that’s considered an important factor in the Raya interest. Raya’s a fantastic goalkeeper but he won’t come cheap. He’s also unlikely to be a difference maker when it comes to Arsenal’s title hopes this season with Ramsdale continuing to improve as he ages. Arsenal’s reported interest in David Raya is certainly intriguing, but it’s by no means an interest in which they need to act upon. The significant sum which would be required to pry Raya away from Brentford could be better spent elsewhere. In other words, don’t fix what isn’t broken. Ramsdale and Turner can serve Arsenal just fine this season.
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