Raya is up there, but he is not regarded as one of the bestplaceholder image
Raya is up there, but he is not regarded as one of the best | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
David James has been speaking about where David Raya thrives, and where the Arsenal goalkeeper can improve compared to the best stoppers.
David Raya has been one of Arsenal’s standout signings in recent years, with Mikel Arteta’s - at the time - risky decision paying off. It was dubbed ruthless when Arteta signed Raya on a loan deal that would eventually become permanently while Aaron Ramsdale still had a fair bit of credit in the bank having been relatively reliable during his time as the club’s number one.
But as time has progressed, it is now a decision that cannot be doubted, with Raya playing a key role over the last couple of years, adding plenty when it comes to his ability with his feet, something Arteta clearly needs from his goalkeepers.
Raya shared the Premier League’s golden glove last season with the joint-highest number of clean sheets, though the defence also plays a big part in that. The Spaniard, who is actually Spain’s second keeper behind the excellent Unai Simon, has already made some eye-catching saves this season.
This week, former England and Liverpool goalkeeper David James exclusively spoke to LondonWorld via Esports Bets to give an in-depth review of where Raya could improve compared to the best keepers in football currently.
“I think the first season at Arsenal, I remember sort of analysing some of the performances and there was bits which I didn't particularly like, which he then smoothed out,” said James. “I think it was more just maybe understanding or communication between him and his coaches. He is always capable of making a fantastic save. He made a fantastic athletic save against Cunha at Old Trafford in the first game of the season, it was probably sneaking in the bottom corner and everything about it was aesthetically superb.
“And I kind of looked at it, I'd commented on it and it was like, yeah, great, great save. And then I sort of looked at it again, I was thinking, do you know what? Nick Pope sticks his foot out and makes the same save. I think it was a low XG shot. And there's a part where I go, yeah, I like what he does, but there's also a part where I go, a lot of it might be different. And it's what do you want in your goalie? Do you want aesthetic athleticism, which he has buckets of, or do you want sort of boring functionality and have the same result?
"The Arsenal team do not give up many opportunities. So I think, again, there's a part where if you compare it to, say, Alisson, you know, Alisson doesn't always keep clean sheets. He can. He's capable, of course. But Ali's strength is that one-on-one situation. It's sort of cliché in footballing terms now. And the massive part of Liverpool's success is how Ali influences the game. Whereas David Raya makes fantastic saves, but he doesn't always win the game type thing.”
Speaking about the quality of Raya’s saves and where the Spaniard thrives in this Arsenal team, James added: “I think with the data thing, you know, I like XG. I don't think XG is the only rule, but I do like XG. I look at numbers and, you know, how many shots you save and then start looking at the saves and the quality of the saves. And as I say, the athleticism can sometimes mask the actual function. And the one thing I do like about David, I have to say, his distribution, his ability to play long balls with accuracy is very, very good. To the point, I think he's more effective than Ederson was with long balls. Weirdly, Eddie had more assists. But if you think how Arsenal play and David is launching balls down the wing, they maintain possession a lot more than perhaps from what I remember looking at especially last season, than the Man City would have done.
“So, you know, there's a lot of strengths to his game and if I'm nit-picking, it's not that I'm saying that he isn't one of the best, but I think there are things that in a goalkeeper fraternity, you could actually look at it and go, okay, he's done well, but there are others who are doing a little bit better, if not a lot better.”
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