Is David Raya GOOD ENOUGH to be Arsenal's number 1 goalkeeper?

Is David Raya good enough to be Arsenal's number one? Is David Raya good enough for Arsenal as they look to assert themselves as being title contenders and challenging in the Champions League for years and beyond? Following Arsenal's victory in the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, naturally Arsenal fans are going to be in high spirits. Fortunately we won the game but unfortunately for David Raya the game was marred by a mistake from him. There was a lot of collective mistakes but David Raya made a glaringly obvious mistake when he obviously attempted to pass it to Thomas Partey. It was pounced upon by Romero and obviously that was the first of two goals Tottenham Hotspur scored and made it a dramatic end to the game for Arsenal. I'm sure it was great for the neutrals but you know for Arsenal fans that was a hell of a last 10 minutes and it's a shame because it's a game where obviously the contexts are fighting for the Premier League title and I do think that's what the main talking point should be but once again it was a mistake from David Raya which he hasn't made on a consistent basis but once again it has sparked a debate internally within Arsenal fan base in a sense of you know it's asking Arsenal fans to ponder is he good enough to be Arsenal's number one? Has he convinced Arsenal fans? We know he's clearly convinced the manager but is he the undisputed long-term number one for that goalkeeping jersey at Arsenal Football Club? Let's see exactly you know what that would mean. As you know David Raya the Spaniard is a goalkeeper of many attributes. He's probably best known for his ability on the ball, his handling of crosses and most impressive quality which is probably his ball distribution. I would say there's no goalkeeper potentially in the division which is as aggressive and effective when opposition deliveries are flying towards his goalpost. A bit of an exaggeration but I've got to he's an Arsenal man. He's actually sixth in the league for high claims, he's 14th in the league for passes but out of the traditional top six Vicario and Ananar are ahead of him and that could mean because you look at Spurs they haven't got the best of midfield and Manchester United is a shamble so their goalie is being called into action. When you look at other fragments of this Arsenal team David Raya's ball-playing abilities is like the icing on top of the cake potentially and where you look at the other more top teams in the Premier League, Ederson by that same metric is ninth and Alisson Becker is 10th people. In the Premier League this season the most unused goalkeepers have stopped an average of 6.6% of crosses that have been swung into their areas. For Raya his personal average is significantly higher, it stands at 12%. That is the highest percentage in the division and unfortunately for Ramsdale is a huge upgrade on Ramsdale who stopped 5.8% of crosses last season. The plus points I like about Raya and as to why I believe he could potentially be the number one to spark a debate for you lot, don't forget to let me know your thoughts, is the manager. Now Mikel Arteta isn't free from criticism in the same way if a signing works out it's going to get praised, if it doesn't there's going to be question marks. There is question marks over Raya but for me it's fair to say so far it's working out. At the end of the day Arsenal have improved across every facet of the footballing pitch. We're scoring more goals, we're keeping more clean sheets, we're dominating teams in midfield, we're adding set piece and dead ball scenarios into our Arsenal designed to obviously get free points and become more of an unpredictable team and David Raya has been central to that. I mean he's fighting for the golden glove whatever people say. I do believe he fits the model of a modern day goalkeeper with his passing range, with his proactive body positioning, with how he contributes to build up play, with his long distribution. You would have seen against Spurs he was hitting a lot of into the right-hand channel for Saka and primarily we try to find Kai Havertz so he can win the first ball and we can progress from there. I do think Raya has a great calming mentality and I think you need that. I'll kind of focus on that in a bit more of the video people but you know Ramsdale was at his best when he was called to be erratic. Aaron Ramsdale kind of struggled in games where the keeper wasn't called upon too much and I think David Raya is a bit more of a calming influence in that. He actually has had a lot of good games and it's a bit of a shame because this Spurs mistake has come off the backdrop of when he was looking very convincing and was having some good displays. We're yet to see him have that Aaron Ramsdale or Anfield per se performance but he was a hero for Arsenal Football Club against Porto. He did have a great game against Liverpool this year and he showcased his quality on the ball in terms of his passing range in the Newcastle game at home, Burnley away and also West Ham away. Generally our goalie has had to do a lot less but you always want to see your keeper not called into action. I do think his collecting of crosses have been mixed but generally they've been positive and we've got to remember what Mikel Arteta himself demands of a goalkeeper in the system. In a Mikel Arteta team the role of a goalkeeper, beyond the obvious, is integral to the team's tactical setup and style of play. Aaron Ramsdale did it to a degree but David Raya is more at home as acting as a sweeper keeper. We all know the manager prefers goalkeepers who are comfortable with the ball at their feet and capable of playing as sweeper keepers, almost acting as another centre-half out of possession, well in possession better yet people, or when he's not having to do traditional goalkeeping stuff. The goalkeeper is expected to act again as an additional outfield player during build-up, providing different passing lanes and options, ultimately helping us at maintaining possession from the back and being able to kill teams all over the field. Manchester City would be the best example. They historically can kill you with the Kevin, the Bryners, the Foldings and what have you. But how many times have you seen Edison and somebody else kill a team in two passes? That's what we're hoping to mimic and that's not just related to Arsenal. Everybody has a keeper like that. I do think the game's gone a bit mad in when we speak about goalies. The first thing we discuss is their ball-playing ability, but that's the natural progression of the modern day. As you know, in an Arteta system, the goalie is expected to act as an additional outfield player, in which David Raya does. He does obviously initiate attacks. He plays a key role in starting our attacking moves. Our first attacker is probably David Raya. Our first defender at the moment is Kai Havertz playing up front, such is this multifunctional system. He's responsible for distributing the ball accurately to the team's defenders or midfielders to initiate attacks and ultimately bypass opposition pressure. He is very good under pressure as well when he is being pressed and stuff like that. Decision-making and communication is something that could spark debate, but I do think that is another thing Mikel Arteta demands of a goalie and so far that's worked. I do think this is a big gift and a curse for David Raya, but positioning and anticipation. The goalkeeper has to have excellent positioning and anticipation skills to deal with through balls, shots, crosses. They need to be proactive in reading the game, anticipating the opposition movements and positioning themselves to intercept or clear danger. Now, when you look at Mikel Arteta's comments once upon a time where he said David Raya sees things before they happen, maybe that's a sort of gaze into what the keeper specifically is demanded to do. Obviously, playing under pressure and the distribution, we've gone over that. You need that as a modern-day keeper in Arteta's system. A goalkeeper in his system is so much more than just a traditional goalkeeper or a shortstopper. Again, they're an integral part of the team's build-up play, defensive structure and overall tactical approach and it does require a combination of technical, tactical and mental attributes to excel and thrive and ultimately deliver in that role, people. And when you look at David Raya and actually Arsenal's progression year on year out under Mikel Arteta, the average defensive line is getting a lot higher as we look to dominate games in the middle third and the final third. And again, because we're so much better as a football team, we are the assertive party nine times out of ten, whoever we play. So I do think David Raya hits the remit in that regard. But as much as I have admiration for David Raya and I think the signings worked out, I do think one of the gifts and the curse, the double-edged sword is that anticipation skills. I can't tell you anything about being a professional goalkeeper or goalkeeping coach, but I do think his proactiveness, his ability to read situations, it comes at a gift and a curse and his positioning hasn't always been the best. And there's also been times, no matter how much the game develops, you're going to need your goalie to just simply be a traditional goalie. And I wouldn't say he was to blame, but you look at the two errors against Luton a few months ago, you look at him getting caught off his line against Chelsea with Modric, you look at the crazy mix up between him and Gabriel against Bayern Munich, there are some concerns. I did think he looked shaky in his early days at Arsenal. I look back to the game at the Emirates and again, the goalie is the last line of defence. I always say this before you ask a question of David Raya, you need to ask questions of the defenders, the strikers and the middle third. But there has been times where I've held them all accountable and I thought David Raya's positioning hasn't always been the best. I would look towards that great effort from Oli Watkins at the Emirates against Aston Villa, where again, Raya is not isolated in the blame and things like that. But I do think that's an area to improve. I think his positioning is spot on when it's time to build out from the back and be almost an outfield player. When it comes to traditional goalkeeping, I think he does. He's better at it, but I think he does have issues that kind of mimic what we were saying about Aaron Ramsdale. We've got to remember David Raya was, you know, the first choice of Mikel Arteta. Had he been able to prize him away from Brentford when we signed Aaron Ramsdale, we might never have known Aaron Ramsdale at Arsenal. Obviously, last summer was a market opportunity far too good to turn down. Mikel Arteta's first choice was Ramsdale, but I have to ask, is David Raya our Edison, our Alisson? Is he that goalie you look at and you think, yes, he can get us out of trouble? If Arsenal Football Club signed the winger, a striker, a central midfielder, defensive options, married the depth of the team, had everything we demand as Arsenal fans in the squad to make us even stronger, and there was a market opportunity to find a keeper that is, you know, that sort of talismanic figure, would Mikel Arteta turn that down? He has shown before that he is not afraid of getting rid of goalies and consistently chopping and changing in that regards, people. We've seen that with Martinez, Leno, Ramsdale, and I'm probably missing out a few. I wouldn't describe David Raya as erratic, but when you look at the modern-day keepers, people, as I said, they're like additional outfield players. In today's game, I believe the goalies, you know, it's almost like running back to your line is the last sort of resort, really, where traditional keepers, you go back to the early 2000s and before that, any trouble, they're getting on their line. It looks like retreating back to your goalkeeping line is the last sort of option for these goalies. And I do think that kind of harms him, if I'm completely honest, because again, there has been times where I would have loved to have seen better from David Raya. So I don't know where I stand on it. I do lean towards David Raya as the guy, Arteta picked him. It's fair to say, you know, after an initial tough period, he's doing okay, really. I do think it's sad because in football, you cannot make mistakes. And I do think if you look at the Spurs game, either side, you know, his distribution before the party thing was great. After, I think he reacted very well to that mistake. And again, you don't want to see mistakes, but mistakes happen. There's human elements in that regard. And fortunately, which has been the theme this season and to a degree last, when mistakes have happened for Arsenal Football Club, rather than that painting the narrative, it's just been a stain, really, on us getting the three points, if I'm honest. And I think it was a shame that he made that mistake because I think he was in a good run collectively to go with the team as well. And I think the fans finally accepted that the Ramsdale versus Raya debate is boring and dead. Whether you believe wholeheartedly in Raya or Ramsdale, we'll think Ramsdale was done dirty. It was neither here nor there. It's dead and buried. We're kind of living with it. As I said, man, I think today's keeping, they're very reactive in terms of being a traditional goalkeeper. And they're very proactive at the modern day stuff, the playing out from the back, the passing, they're offering an option for their centre halves and midfielders and things like that. Either way, in my opinion, David Raya's done his part. We're fighting for a title. He's fighting for a Golden Glove with three games left. And every player isn't free from criticism. We praise and critique fairly. But I think on the large part, he has done well. But has he 100% convinced? I'm not sure, people. I don't know where I stand on this. I give him the benefit of the doubt because I do praise his character and football has short memories. He did save us in the Champions League ultimately before we went out. Now, Mikel Arteta is a very smart man. He's methodical. He's calculated. He would have known that after the season Ramsdale had last year and what Ramsdale was as a fan favourite and him getting a new deal, it would have had some sort of backlash or questions from fans thinking he was harshly done by. And I do think that was one of the harshest things that David Raya had to come into this football club because the vast majority of fans gave him a chance, but he came into this with a lot of noise, if I'm completely honest with you. So I'm not sure. But I do beg the question where you look at someone like, it's very different, but Kieran Tierney and Aaron Ramsdale, when the opportunity has been there for Mikel Arteta to upgrade when it hasn't necessarily been obvious that that's an area, he's done that. Would he do that with David Raya if a better goalkeeper presented itself? As I said, most people gave David Raya a chance and equal with Ramsdale, he, you know, with Ramsdale, he equally had his supporters as well as doubters because as much as there was people that felt Ramsdale was hard done by, there were some people that thought, you know what, he wasn't probably the guy. Is there a reality where neither keeper is quite good enough and we might have to shop once upon a time again in the goalkeeping market? You know, in conclusion, in terms of on the ball, in my opinion, Raya is a significant upgrade on David, on apologies, Aaron Ramsdale in that regards. He brings that Spanish ethos. I think he's more closely aligned with what Mikel Arteta demands from a goalkeeper. I do think he's got a call ahead if I'm honest with you, but without a significant upturn in performances, potentially we could be revisiting this. Once again, Arteta has shown he won't hesitate to change goalkeepers and I do think it's a bit of a weird one because when you look back to Brentford at the Emirates versus Spurs away, given the context is, you know, the pressures are high against Brentford, you know, we had the majority of the ball, the contexts were different. Where you look at Aaron Ramsdale's mistake, obviously David Raya couldn't play against Brentford because that's his parent club. But I think if David Raya was playing against Brentford, I don't think he makes that Ramsdale mistake. And likewise, if Ramsdale was playing against Tottenham Hotspur 24 hours ago at the time of making this vid, given the context and the high demands, and obviously Ramsdale thrives in that, you know, I don't think Ramsdale makes the Raya mistake really. I think they've both got their pros and cons and at least for this season and what remains of it, we have two good goalies. But are Ivo really the long-term guys? We have to give Raya the benefit of the doubt because he's had more good games than he's had bad games. But I don't know where I stand on this debate. And as I said, people, let me know your thoughts, whatever people have to say, you know, David Raya will be to turn his loan deal permanent next season or better yet in the summer. So I don't know, but it's a shame because again, it does spark this goalkeeping debate. I don't think Raya is 100% convincing. Neither did I think Aaron Ramsdale, but what player beyond the obvious at Arsenal is 100% convincing, you know, big up David Raya, keep your head up. Again, I think his mentality is spot on and I think he reacted well to the mistake. Unfortunately, it's not something that obviously played a part in the story of the game, but it didn't prove fatal for us. We still picked up three points and we still keep this title challenge going. But as I said, is David Raya a significant upgrade on Aaron Ramsdale and is he the long-term goalkeeper in your opinion? Once again, let me know your thoughts. Don't forget to comment, like, subscribe and all of that good stuff. Appreciated for you lot listening to my video. Peace.