David Raya has become the latest Arsenal star to garner interest from Real Madrid amid William Saliba being linked, according to The Sun.
Madrid have set their sights on Saliba, and Fabrizio Romano reports they are "prepared to go big" for the French defender with a year left on his contract. The 24-year-old isn't the only Gunners star on their radar as they consider shaking up their goalkeeping ranks and finding a long-term successor to Thibaut Courtois.
Raya impressed in the Gunners' 5-1 quarter-final aggregate win over Madrid in the UEFA Champions League last month. The 29-year-old replaced Aaron Ramsdale as Mikel Arteta's number one last season and has proven that decision right with consistent displays between the sticks.
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Madrid Eyeing Arsenal's Raya & Saliba
His idol is a Los Blancos legend
Raya and Saliba
Madrid are looking for a long-term Courtois replacement and also weighing up selling backup shot-stopper Andriy Lunin this summer. Brighton & Hove Albion's Bart Verbruggen is at the top of their wishlist, but they are also keeping tabs on Raya, who only joined Arsenal permanently last year from Brentford.
The report notes that a "shock" deal for Raya is deemed "harder to pull off" than for the 22-year-old Verbruggen. However, the 11-cap Spain international grew up supporting Los Blancos, and his "hero" was Iker Casillas, whom he took inspiration from during his childhood.
Arsenal will undoubtedly be eager to keep hold of Raya, and they are under no pressure regarding his contract as he has three years left to run on it. He left Spain in 2012 during his youth days, joining Blackburn Rovers before heading to Brentford in 2019 where his stock grew.
David Raya Statistics (Premier League 2024-25)
Appearances:
Saves per game:
Successful runs out per game:
Saves:
Penalties saved:
Clean sheets:
Goals conceded per game:
Arteta also dug his heels in over making the Spaniard his number one while earning initial criticism over the decision. He's since earned a "world-class" assessment from Charles Watts and helped the North Londoners continue challenging for the Premier League title while making it to this season's Champions League semi-finals.
All statistics courtesy ofSofaScore- correct as of 12/05/2025.
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