If it seemed as if Arsenal had their business done nice and early in the summer window, then that was because they had.
Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber were signed before their tour of the United States at a total cost of around £200million ($257m) and Mikel Arteta even said the size of his squad was “unsustainable”.
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So when The Athletic broke the story on Sunday that Arsenal are exploring a deal to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, it came as a shock to many.
Aaron Ramsdale has been ever-present for the best part of two seasons and, at just 25, was thought to be the club’s long-term first-choice goalkeeper.
So the interest in Raya, a mainstay at Brentford over recent years, has provoked questions as to why Arsenal would look to recruit again in that position — and what a potential transfer would mean.
Why do Arsenal want Raya?
Competition. Squeezing standards. Not letting anyone be comfortable.
Arteta knows that to eat away at Manchester City’s superiority, Arsenal cannot afford to stand still.
There are so many positions in the team that, last season, were perceived to be automatic picks. Now, though, Ben White faces competition from Timber, Thomas Partey will now have to rediscover the form he showed in the first two-thirds of last season with the arrival of Declan Rice, and Gabriel Jesus knows Kai Havertz offers something different as a striker.
If the Raya deal progresses, Ramsdale will just be the next player to have his first-choice status challenged. Matt Turner is a capable goalkeeper, as his performances for the USMNT at the Gold Cup underlined once again, but he is not considered Ramsdale’s equal and Nottingham Forest hold a strong interest in signing him this summer.
Arsenal want Raya to come in and compete for the No 1 jersey. It is not the case that the Spaniard would come in and immediately take over, but with any deal likely to demand a significant outlay, competition will be fierce in training to secure regular involvement.
Raya is well known to Arsenal’s goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana, who played a big part in signing him for Brentford from Blackburn Rovers in 2019. One look through the coach’s LinkedIn posts is like a highlights reel of Raya’s best moments in his early days at Brentford.
The Spain international has a futsal background and his ability with the ball at his feet is a hugely attractive asset for a team of Arsenal’s ilk. In September 2021, Jurgen Klopp even described the Brentford goalkeeper as a “No 10” due to his pinpoint distribution.
He was one of the league’s top keepers on a variety of metrics last season and Raya has not hidden that his ambitions extend beyond Brentford, confirming in an interview with The Athletic earlier this year that he had turned down two contract offers at the west London side.
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“I want to play in Europe and I want to fight to win a title. I want to fight to win a European title,” Raya said. “I trust myself to be able to play in those types of games.”
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What does this mean for Ramsdale?
Ramsdale has been key to elevating Arsenal in his two years at the club.
His goalkeeping steadied an unbalanced ship in 2021 and his varied distribution added a different dimension to Arsenal’s play, which continues to set them apart. Those qualities, as well as his character off the pitch, are why Arsenal secured his future with a new long-term contract in May.
As a result, things may not take the Bernd Leno/Ramsdale path of 2021, even if Arsenal do pursue Raya. A key difference is that Ramsdale is the style of goalkeeper that Mikel Arteta wants, while Leno was not.
It has been clear all summer that Arsenal do not want to stand still. That will be displayed even more clearly if their interest in Raya crystalises in a bid, but should not necessarily mean the end of Ramsdale — just that he will have less margin for error.
Arsenal have similarly solidified their defensive foundations ahead of a return to the Champions League. A move for Raya would maintain that trend. Turner is not a bad goalkeeper, but the gap in quality between Ramsdale and Raya, particularly with the ball at their feet, is appreciably smaller.
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Had Ramsdale been letting them down?
Statistically, Ramsdale performed around the average for Premier League goalkeepers in regard to shot-stopping last season. That is a drop from his debut campaign when he was in the top three for the number of goals prevented in the league.
There is no hiding from the fact the England international experienced dips in form at the start and end of last season. Even so, Arsenal’s shortcomings in the title race with Manchester City were not solely down to him and he also played a key role in keeping them in contention for as long as they were — his eye-catching performance away to Liverpool being a prime example.
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The lapses that cost Arsenal last year were mainly collective, which is why increasing competition across the pitch is considered so important. But Ramsdale was still integral to their progress.
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So did the U.S. tour have an influence?
It should be stressed that, while the interest in Raya may seem sudden, Arsenal had been monitoring him and plotting a move for some time. That interest would most likely have been retained even if Ramsdale had performed outstandingly through pre-season.
Yet the Englishman was at fault for Manchester United’s first goal, when Bruno Fernandes’ shot went through him, in Arsenal’s loss in East Rutherford, New Jersey. His kicking was also a little erratic during the friendlies. At times, Arteta could be seen turning away in frustration when the ball had been sliced out of play — usually when Ramsdale attempted to play long to his right.
Yet the surfaces for all three games were poor. In Los Angeles, Ramsdale came out to warm up and discovered he could barely muster a bounce out of the ball with the turf having been relaid less than two days before the game following a concert at the SoFi stadium.
Ramsdale’s composure with the ball at his feet was one of the main reasons he was signed from Bournemouth, but Arsenal play a more varied game than is often acknowledged. Yet he is capable of ‘going long’ to good effect and he did show his range of passing at times during the games, with Leandro Trossard’s first goal against Barcelona stemming from a precise kick deep into the opposition half.
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Do the club have form for this?
There are parallels to be drawn with Bernd Leno when Ramsdale himself arrived at Arsenal two years ago. He had been signed as the German’s competition. The expectation was that it would take a while for him to gain a starting berth, but that process was accelerated by Arsenal losing their first three games of the Premier League season.
Ramsdale then started against West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup and has not looked back since. Alongside Arsenal’s upturn in form, the goalkeeper’s distribution was cited as a key factor in him maintaining his place as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper.
So this could be deemed as history repeating itself. And, while it may appear an unusual approach, having two quality goalkeeping options worked well that season. When Ramsdale was absent through injury at Aston Villa, Leno stepped in to keep a clean sheet in a vital 1-0 win. That game proved to be the German’s last for the club.
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Will the fans be split on this?
Most will probably not have a problem. The idea of having quality depth has been welcomed in outfield positions. No one is complaining at the arrival of Timber to provide cover across the back line. This is merely an extension of that — a player first tracked by Arsenal three years ago coming in to raise standards across the group.
Given they have long admired Raya’s qualities, they were always likely to explore his signing once it became clear that the 27-year-old is actively on the market.
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Do Arsenal face competition for Raya?
While Arsenal are Raya’s preferred choice due to a potential reunion with Cana, Bayern Munich are also interested in signing the Spain goalkeeper.
The German champions’ preference would be a loan, but Brentford insist Raya would have to sign a new contract for that to go ahead. The 27-year-old has less than a year on his current deal, which expires in June 2024.
It is Raya’s ambition to play in Europe and both clubs offer that, but he is not opposed to staying at Brentford another year if his valuation is not met. If either club want him now, they will have to push for it on Brentford’s terms.
As for Turner, initial dialogue between Arsenal and Forest has already taken place, so his departure would help reduce the financial outlay if they can recoup a healthy fee for the USMNT’s first-choice goalkeeper, who cost around £5.75million ($7.4m) when bought from New England Revolution last summer.
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(Top images: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images; Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)