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Mikel Arteta's decision to replace the popular Aaron Ramsdale with David Raya drew much criticism. Ramsdale had just helped Arsenal finish second in the Premier League, and Raya was a new signing from Brentford.
Arteta's call, albeit unpopular at the time, has now proven to be the correct one. Ramsdale has since been relegated with Southampton and is now Nick Pope's understudy at Newcastle United. Raya and the Gunners are currently top of the Premier League.
It is difficult to judge who is the best goalkeeper in the world, as the top keepers play for the best teams and therefore have the best defenders in front of them. Arsenal's back-line of Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, and Riccardo Calafiori has proven impenetrable this season.
Raya has still made important saves when called upon, which is why he has yet to concede a goal in the Champions League. The Spanish keeper has also so far kept seven clean sheets in the Premier League.
Despite this, Raya is still not Spain's first-choice goalkeeper. Unai Simón, who was their goalkeeper during their victorious Euro 2024 campaign, starts ahead of Raya. The Arsenal keeper is now 30, but has just 11 caps for Spain.
Is Arsenal's David Raya the best goalkeeper in the world?
Raya's journey to the top is an unconventional one. He was born in Barcelona, but was not picked up by the famous La Masia academy. He played youth soccer for Cornellà and then Blackburn Rovers. He had a loan spell at Southport, who were in the fifth tier of English soccer at the time.
He went on to establish himself as Blackburn's first-choice keeper. His form in the Championship led to his move to Brentford, who he helped to promotion to the Premier League. Now with Arsenal, Raya could win the division this season.
Other goalkeepers who can consider themselves the best in the world include Thibaut Courtois, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Alisson Becker. Donnarumma won the Yashin Trophy at this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony. However, he was shown the door at Paris Saint-Germain as he was supposedly not so good with his feet.
Donnarumma was quickly snapped up by Manchester City, who could challenge Arsenal for the Premier League title this year. Winning the Yashin Trophy should determine the best keeper in the world, but it is still subjective.
Talent-wise, Raya can certainly be mentioned in the same sentence. However, if Raya is to be regarded as the best keeper in the world, then he needs to win the Premier League with Arsenal and replace Simón as Spain's number one.