Kai Havertz bravely said the obvious David Raya truth that a lot of people avoid

Manuel Neuer; Alisson Becker; Thibaut Courtois; Jan Oblak, etc. – there is some stiff competition to sift through when it comes to settling the debate of who exactly is the greatest goalkeeper in world football.

But Kai Havertz is not afraid to nail his colours to the mast and he named his Arsenal teammate, David Raya (surprise surprise), as the current world no. 1.

Speaking after the 1-0 win at Sporting CP on Tuesday night, Havertz offered a glowing tribute to the Spaniard: “I think he is still underestimated in the world of football, but for me, the last two seasons, [he is] the best ‘keeper in the world”.

He added that Raya is “outstanding” and has saved a grateful Gunners team many times, the latest such occasion being his heroics to keep Sporting CP goalless in their UCL quarter-final first leg in midweek which earned him the MOTM award.

Kai Havertz named David Raya as the best goalkeeper in world football

It is a bold claim to rank him first and, for neutrals, the lack of silverware thus far in his career would discount him from consideration here (neither a bench appearance in the Euro 2024 final nor a play-off final win with Brentford in 2021 stack up well against the many European and domestic honours won by the names at the top of this page).    

But fair-minded observers ought to recognise a top-class goalkeeper when they see one, regardless of their trophy cabinet. For Arsenal fans, they certainly do not need to wait for any parade down the streets of Islington to know Raya’s worth to this team.

At present, the 30-year-old has more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the top five leagues in Europe across all competitions (22 – four more than his nearest challenger) and he is on course for a third consecutive Golden Glove in the Premier League; if he can add the title or UCL crown to those numbers, then a few more heads might turn.

Not everyone will agree with Havertz – indeed, it is hard enough to convince some rivals that Arsenal are actually a good team – but Raya is certainly part of those ‘best-in-the-world’ conversations and a continuation of his 2025/26 form until the end of this campaign could go a long way towards shaping the Gunners’ fate.

Havertz put his head above the parapet; soon, others might have no choice but to follow his lead.