David Raya might just be the best goalkeeper in Europe

If Arsenal do go on to land the Premier League title, and potentially other trophies too, there will be plenty of heroes. Gabriel and Declan Rice are probably the leading candidates to become only the club's fifth PFA Players' Player of the Year winner, after Liam Brady ('79), Dennis Bergkamp ('98), Thierry Henry ('03 & '04) and Robin van Persie ('12).

Meantime, those who've been at the club since the very first title challenge under Mikel Arteta such as William Saliba, Martin Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli will always hold a special place in the heart of supporters. But, is the biggest unsung hero actually goalkeeper David Raya?

David Raya has outweighed any expectation of him since joining Arsenal

When he arrived from Brentford in the summer of 2023, many eyebrows were raised. Aaron Ramsdale had quickly become a beloved figure, signing a new contract just weeks earlier, after being named in the PFA Team of the Year. Nevertheless, Raya quickly usurped Ramsdale in the pecking order and has never looked back, making his 135th appearance for the club at the weekend.

Across these matches, the Spaniard has kept 59 clean sheets and conceded only 106 goals, while his statistics this season are even more frightening. In 39 outings, Raya has enjoyed 20 shutouts and only picked the ball out of his net on 25 occasions. His tally of 15 Premier League clean sheets is the most by any goalkeeper across Europe's top five leagues:

Europe's top 5 leagues: Goalkeepers with most clean sheets 20225/26

Amazingly, four of the six goalkeepers with 12 or more shutouts ply their trade in Serie A, with Raya and Gianluigi Donnarumma the only Premier League representatives in the top ten. The Spaniard has played every minute in the league this season, meaning Lucas Chevalier (PSG), Yann Sommer (Inter) and Joan García (Barcelona) do boast a better clean sheet %, but it is very marginal.

Four ahead of Donnarumma, Raya is on course for a third successive Premier League Golden Glove, having shared the award with Matz Sels last year, after winning it outright during his debut campaign in North London. He would join a very select group of three-time winners.

Goalkeepers to win multiple Premier League Golden Gloves

Only Joe Hart, Ederson and Pep Reina have picked up the Golden Glove in three successive campaigns while, before Raya, Petr Čech and Wojciech Szczęsny were the only players to do so while representing Arsenal, since the accolade's introduction in 2004/05.

The 30 year old has produced countless massive moments this season alone, most memorably denying Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha on the opening day, Kevin Schade in December as well as Brian Brobbey at the Stadium of Light. Thus, if what every Arsenal fan is dream of happening does indeed happen, the goalkeeper's contribution should not go unnoticed.