[Facing the media at San Mames last night](https://youtu.be/rjvI1K0Pycw), David Raya was asked what he’d learned from reaching last season’s Champions League semi-finals, only to be dumped out by Paris Saint-Germain.
The look on his face suggested it’s a game he’s replayed plenty of times. A depleted Arsenal hadn’t done themselves justice in the first leg in London, then went hell for leather in Paris, only to be denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma. In the end, ruthless finishes from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi booked PSG’s place in the final.
After going out in the quarter-finals in 2024, last year was progress, but Raya clearly wants more.
“It hurts a lot, losing in the semi-final,” he admitted ahead of the Gunners’ Champions League opener with Athletic Bilbao.
“That’s one of the things that you learn, but obviously, you get more mature. This is the third year in a row that we’re in the Champions League, I think 2016 was the last time before this period.
“We are so happy to be here, we are so happy to play this competition and we have to take it game by game, it’s incredible to be here.”
He added: “We are \[talking about winning it\], we have belief, we want to win, we are Arsenal and we play to win. That’s not in doubt, that’s what we want to do. It’s what we play football for.
“Right now, we are in September, it’s a long journey, it’s a long season in the Champions League and Premier League, so we are just focused on the present, on the game tomorrow, we go step by step.”
Arsenal’s failure to win the Champions League, or its predecessor the European Cup, remains a blot on the copybook. It’s been 31 years since the club last tasted continental success, George Graham’s side lifting the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994. Since then, four major European finals, four defeats.
Real Zaragoza denied a repeat in 1995, Galatasaray edged the 2000 UEFA Cup on penalties, Barcelona broke our hearts in the 2006 Champions League final, and Chelsea handed out a (best forgotten) Europa League shellacking in 2019.
For a side yet to win a domestic honour together, conquering Europe’s biggest prize might feel like a stretch. But there’s growing belief in the stands that this squad has the depth to challenge on multiple fronts. Eight new players is a show of serious intent – now it’s a question of whether Lady Luck fancies pulling on the red and white.