How David Raya become a Premier League champion and Arsenal history maker

[p][b][a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5r2sMmtmRdpWjUjywmUvDU?si=JNl0pq3cROGyKzRUmqv53g&nd=1&dlsi=f6ebfb1e9fa04b2a"]You can now listen to this article via Spotify[/a].[/b][/p][p]Same first name, same club, but a completely different style. According to the stats, he has made one mistake all season that has led to a goal. And he hasn't missed a single minute, either.[/p][p]He has also benefited greatly from the team’s defensive style and discipline - qualities his compatriot, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arteta-mikel/lAbHYaQM/"]Mikel Arteta[/a], emphasises.[/p][p][b]In those 37 matches, he has averaged only 1.6 saves per game - the fewest in the entire Premier League. [/b][/p][p]For example, on Monday against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/burnley/z3dmTMMO/"]Burnley[/a], he didn’t have to make a single save: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] are also the only team that haven't faced a single penalty all season![/p][p]It’s very reminiscent of Jose Mourinho’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cech-petr/fTjQ34vo/"]Petr Cech[/a] (one of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raya-david/nkVV0IXb/"]Raya’s[/a] predecessors in Arsenal’s goal), who still holds the league’s all-time record for clean sheets in a season (24 in 35 appearances) in 2004/05.[/p][p]He, too, had little to do, which, according to him, made it even harder to stay focused and deliver his best at the crucial moment.[/p][embed guid="c9767587-6c95-4967-9dfa-5955fd07b281" url="https://x.com/OptaAnalyst/status/2057005655299371372?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]And that’s exactly Raya’s strength[/b]. [b]He pulls off a brilliant save at the key moment, when it’s needed most - not when you’re leading 3-0. That’s exactly what you expect from a goalkeeper," [/b]praises him legendary Gunners defender Nigel Winterburn in an interview for Flashscore.[/p][p]He’s spot on about the results. Of the Gunners’ 25 wins, 14 were by a single goal, and eight by the “Mourinho scoreline” of 1-0 (in the last four rounds, Arsenal have won three times this way).[/p][p]Raya also stands out for how he organises the defence. Unlike many of his compatriots, he has no problem with English.[/p][p]After all, he’s lived in England for nearly half his life. Shortly before his 17th birthday, he left his native [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a], and thanks to a partnership between his then club [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cornella/nqWqIAh1/"]Cornella[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/blackburn/6Nl8nagD/"]Blackburn[/a], he set off for England.[/p][image alt="Raya stats this season" id="486ef733-e6a7-4b0c-b05c-6637a5fa0348" credit-line="Profimedia / Opta by StatsPerform" guid="3acd7e49-fbad-46d9-a109-b8277e6ea18a" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]There, he was sent on loan to amateur side [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/southport/KAjTCI1l/"]Southport[/a], and in the fifth tier, Raya got a tough introduction to senior football.[/p][p][b]"I learned that nothing comes for free. At Blackburn, as a young player, they took care of everything for me, but here I realised I had to take care of myself. [/b]A big lesson - it opened my eyes," he recalls in an interview for Arsenal’s club website.[/p][p]He actually asked for the loan himself, feeling that playing for the youth team wasn’t enough. "Since I was a kid, I knew what I wanted to achieve and what I wanted to do. That was really important," he explains.[/p][p]The not-so-tall goalkeeper (184 cm) had a rough start. In his first four games for Southport, he conceded nine times, but he didn’t fall apart.[/p][p]In the next six matches, he kept four clean sheets and helped the team reach the third round of the FA Cup. "We were knocked out by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/derby/Iug0YO0Q/"]Derby County[/a] 1-0, with a penalty in the last minute," he says.[/p][embed guid="15af279a-9ede-4a4b-8b10-b4ba63a4b016" url="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-EdWyz8GLSQ" social-type="youtube" /][p]In any case, the door to Blackburn’s goal was open for him; the club recalled him before the end of the season, and from the next year, he was their number one. Thanks to his experience in the lower leagues, he also picked up the specifics of pure British football.[/p][p]"At every corner, every free kick, I’d get an elbow in every possible place," he describes. [/p][p]And not just elbows. In a match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-brom/CCBWpzjj/"]West Bromwich[/a] in 2018, he took such a blow to the nose from an opponent’s foot that it completely shattered the bones. He couldn’t breathe, was given an oxygen mask right on the pitch, and after being taken to the hospital, doctors found the injury so severe that a bone fragment was almost pressing against his skull. [/p][p]On top of that, it caused severe swelling and facial damage. He finished the season wearing a protective mask (unlike Cech, he could take it off), and after the season, plastic surgeons gave him a new nose. The operation changed his appearance so much that fans don’t recognise him in older photos.[/p][embed guid="4a1a1875-ee8f-4bb9-8677-0c89103c3507" url="https://x.com/SI_FootballClub/status/2052007962139320521?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]He took a long time to adapt to aerial duels, but his move to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brentford/xYe7DwID/"]Brentford[/a] helped him a lot in this area, and he says he made huge progress. Credit for that goes to the club’s then goalkeeping coach, Inaki Cana, who played a key role in Raya’s transfer to Brentford.[/p][p]Both Catalans by origin, they became friends, and the goalkeeper later followed the coach to Arsenal.[/p][p]"I changed a lot under his guidance. I used to rely on my reactions and wait on the line for a miraculous save. He taught me to be proactive and prevent shots from happening in the first place. That means coming off the line for crosses," Raya explains.[/p][p]At 30, he’s started working on his coaching career. He’s already earned a general UEFA B license and is studying for a specialised goalkeeping one. Now, by winning the English title, he’s underlined his status as one of the world’s best goalkeepers.[/p][p]But in one respect, he’s unlucky. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simon-unai/Ao9Vw3hi/"]Unai Simon[/a] has long been the number one for the national team, and Raya has played only 12 matches for Spain. So the new Premier League champion will be watching the World Cup matches from the bench...[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/soccer-premier-league-from-a-dazzling-derby-to-late-drama-arsenal-s-key-wins-en-route-to-the-title/M7dbmRv2/"]The path to Arsenal's first title in 22 years[/a][/h2]