Has Arteta Been Vindicated Over Raya Versus Ramsdale?

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Raya & Ramsdale
Raya (Supporterhéninois | Wikipedia) & Ramsdale (AFC Bournemouth | Wikipedia)

When news broke that Arsenal had signed David Raya on an initial £3m season-long loan deal, the move divided the Gunners’ fan base. Some saw the former Brentford man as a significant upgrade on Aaron Ramsdale, whereas others felt it was an unnecessary deal given that Raya was no better than Englishman.

Despite the uncertainty over who would be Arsenal’s number one keeping going into the season, Mikel Arteta was a happy man as he has long craved extra competition among his squad. Speaking in 2020, the Spaniard said “this club needs competition of two or three players in each position to fight. If they are able to fight and compete and they are better than the other ones, they will play. If not, someone else will play.”

This desire for genuine competition is what saw Arteta bring in Spaniard Raya from Brentford. It may have raised a few eyebrows at the time but the decision seems an entirely justified one now given how well Arsenal’s new number one has played. Even Ramsdale’s biggest supporters would concede that Arteta might the right call and Arsenal are better off for it. Just how much of an upgrade has Raya been for Arsenal though and is there any hope of Ramsdale reclaiming his number one spot?

Arteta’s Goalkeeping Dilemma

David Raya Arsenal screenshot
David Raya (Image Credit: Arsenal)

Arsenal have been blessed with talented goalkeepers in recent years but as Arteta has found out, keeping more than one happy at a time is a tough ask. Already the Spaniard has made three big calls regarding his favoured goalkeeper. The first was to either stick with Bernd Leno or put his faith in Emiliano Martinez. Arteta opted for the German and allowed Martinez to move to Aston Villa, in a decision that also split the fan base.

Leno faced no real threat to his number-one status the following season but did for the 2021/22 campaign as Arsenal signed Ramsdale from the relegated Sheffield United. Leno started the season but following a 5-0 defeat to Man City, he found himself dropped for Ramsdale who cemented himself as Arteta’s preferred option. Unhappy at being a substitute option, Leno secured a move to Fulham the following summer.

Having displaced Leno, Ramsdale enjoyed 2022/23 with no credible competition and started all 38 Premier League games. While it was a fairly positive season for the Englishman, some pundits thought that he was perhaps not quite good enough for a team with title aspirations. Upgrading the Englishman was perhaps not a transfer priority but when the opportunity to sign Raya presented itself, it seemed like a no-brainer. It was thought that the competition would push Ramsdale to a higher level or at least give Arsenal an equally good, if not better option, if this did not happen.

A Deal Too Good to Refuse


Although Ramsdale fans felt like there was no need to sign Raya in the summer of 2023, the nature of the deal meant it was too good to turn down. Arsenal only had to pay a £3m loan fee to get the Brentford man on board. This enabled them to sell the unwanted Matt Turner for £10m. Not only this but the loan deal only came with a compulsory buy option provided Raya made a certain number of appearances. So, if Ramsdale did prove to be the better option, Arsenal would have only had an optional buy clause, which they would likely not have triggered.

It seems like a poor deal for Brentford but they were in a weak negotiating position. For some time Raya had seemed Tottenham bound but the two London clubs could not agree on a fee and the move fell through. Brentford were holding out for close to £40m but Spurs were after a deal worth around half that amount.

Unfortunately for Brentford, there were no other clubs seriously interested in their keeper and they had already signed someone to replace the Spaniard, Mark Flekken. Additionally, Raya, who only had one year left on his contract, had publicly stated that he wished to take on a new challenge. This left the Bees in a poor negotiating position and Arsenal took full advantage.

What should be added though that there was an expectation it seems, from both parties, that Raya would be Arsenal’s number one choice and the obligation to buy would be triggered. Early in the season, Arteta spoke about regularly rotating Raya and Ramsdale but very rarely does this ever happen in football. When changes do occasionally occur between the posts, they are almost always triggered by the starting keeper losing form, not because the manager has a desire to share minutes.

How Much Better Is Raya than Ramsdale?


Having seen Raya play for Arsenal for almost a full season, it is fairly clear he is simply a better option than Ramsdale. This is why you would be very hard-pressed to find an Arsenal fan who wants to see the Englishman return between the sticks. In terms of shot-stopping ability, there is not a great deal between the pair.

In the 2023/24 season, Raya did not particularly impress in this area compared to other goalkeepers in the league. When looking at expected goals minus goal allowed (a score of 0 means a keeper has let in the exact number of goals they would be expected to) Raya finished the season on -2.6. The season earlier, Ramsdale’s figure was at -2.0, putting them at a very similar level.

Although there is little to separate them in terms of shot-stopping, Raya is superior with the ball at his feet and even more so at collecting crosses. Despite being a relatively short goalkeeper at just 6ft tall, Raya possesses a far greater ability at plucking or punching the ball out of the air. In the 2022/23 season, Ramsdale stopped just 5.8% of crosses into the box, ranking him 16th among Premier League goalkeepers. By stark contrast, Raya boasted a cross-stopping rate of 12.2% in 2023/24, the highest in the division.

As for the superiority of playing the ball out with his feet, not only is this visible to the eye but it is backed up by the stats too. Ramsdale completed 25.4% of his long passes (40+ yards) in 2022/23 whereas Raya had a success rate of 37.1% in 2023/24. Being more comfortable with the ball at his feet also enables Raya to exit the box and act as a sweeper more than Ramsdale does. During 2022/23, Ramsdale averaged 1.13 actions outside the box per 90 minutes, his replacement managed 1.53 the following year.

The only thing really going against Raya is that he is perhaps a little more error-prone. His three errors leading to goal in 2023/24 is more than Ramsdale racked up the previous two seasons combined (two). Arteta believes this is a small price to pay though for an objectively more well-rounded goalkeeper. Due to this, it is very difficult to imagine Ramsdale reclaiming number one status, if indeed he stays at Arsenal for the 2024/25 campaign. His only hope would be Raya suffering an awful run of form or injury but the Spaniard is not a keeper that seems particularly prone to this.