David Raya on staying alert amid Arsenal’s defensive brilliance as he is staying grounded despite club equalling clean sheets record.
David Raya sprung into action following yet another comparatively peaceful evening at work. In a habit that started when the two initially collaborated at Brentford, Arsenal’s goalkeeper ran to the touchline to speak with coach Iñaki Café as soon as the referee indicated the spot at Slavia Prague on Tuesday.
If Raya could save the penalty and maintain the team’s seventh straight clean sheet, he would have made history. Amazingly, since Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade scored past Raya on September 28, Arsenal has given up just 12 shots on goal in 12 hours and 56 minutes, matching a club clean-sheets record set over two seasons in 1903.
It was also suggested after the 4-0 thrashing of Atlético Madrid last month that he might consider bringing along a book to keep him occupied.
“No, you never know,” Raya said with a smile. “You never know when the other team is going to have a chance. You have to be alert, no matter how we’re playing or how we play. I have to be alert 90, 100 minutes every game.”
Mikel Arteta has no concerns in that regard. “It’s the way he is naturally, the way he trains every single day and the way he anticipates things,” Arsenal’s manager said in the buildup to Saturday’s game at Sunderland. “David is exceptional at that.”
Raya has described his role as “the first attacker and the last defender” and said in an interview with Brentford in 2023: “My view from the back is completely different to watching the game from the side of the pitch. From the side you see more. It’s hard for me to speak with those on the touchline because I’m far away, so I use every opportunity I can get. I’ll have ideas in my head. Shall we try this, shall we try that? I want to help the team as much as possible in every way.”
Arsenal will play an in-form Sunderland, but they are the first English top-flight club in almost a century to win eight straight games without giving up in all competitions. Raya will not take anything for granted. To commemorate his lengthy road to the top, he has the date of his Premier League debut for Brentford—a 2-0 victory over Arsenal—tattooed on his neck.