Raya's become a truly great keeper. I was sceptical when he supplanted Ramsdale but he's become so good I can barely connect to that scepticism, it's wild. But forget the numbers, I'd just judge it on the pub test instead:
- almost always decides an undecided ball in our favour
- very, very often makes the right decision
- distribution and shot-stopping are excellent
- at the heart of one of the best defences Arsenal has ever had
- gains us points regularly (he racked up at least two for us versus Chelsea just days ago)
- great game management and he'll stop at nothing to win
Now, to me being at the heart of an elite defence is a plus for any keeper as much as a question. If anything we might understate the part Raya plays in making Gabriel and Saliba look so good. Raya along with Saliba not getting injured were huge differences between the chaos of the back half of 22–23 and our improvement in 23–24.
Cech, Schmeichel, Van Der Sar were surely all great on their day. They too did their work in dominant squads with cheat code players all over the pitch. Think of that Schmeichel clip from the '92 Euros the other day. Schmeichel could pretty much scoop up a backpass and take the ball home for the evening.
