Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn has said that David Raya needs to win a trophy if he is to be considered one of the all-time great Arsenal goalkeepers.
Raya joined from Brentford in 2023 on a loan deal, in which time he won the Premier League Golden Glove award. He was then signed on a permanent deal last summer and has continued his excellent form.
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The Spaniard is currently in line for the award yet again, and he has helped Mikel Arteta‘s side battle for the league title and reach the Champions League semi-final, where they fell to PSG.
After two superb seasons, Winterburn was asked to compare Raya to Arsenal legends David Seaman and Jens Lehmann, and whether Raya has the potential to be considered a legend alongside those two greats.
He told GoonerNews exclusively via online casino site BetVictor Casino: “When Raya came in. I think there was one or two people thinking, ‘Oh, Ramsdale, he’s done a really good job. What’s going on here?’ But the thing with Raya is he’s calm. His distribution is usually very, very good. And since he’s come in, he has made some big saves and in important games.
“I always feel to go down as a great, a true legend, I think you need to win and make you know you need to win major trophies. In terms of Raya, he has made some big saves I think he’s a really strong goalkeeper. He’s showing that, but to be to be put up with the likes of some of the others. I would suggest that you know you probably need to at least have a Premier League title to your CV as well.”
Winterburn names David Seaman as the greatest Arsenal keeper
As things stand Raya is making a case to have a career that is up there with the likes of Seaman and Lehmann, however, as he is yet to win anything, Winterburn can’t put him up there with those legends.
As he does think Raya has the potential to be the best, he identifies Seaman as the man that the Spaniard should try to surpass due to his success with the Gunners.
He said: “Dave Seaman for me, I put down as my greatest goalkeeper to play. You know, his reliability, his positioning, his big saves, important moments were crucial, a big character as well.”
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