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Mikel Arteta has hailed the ‘tremendous impact’ of one Arsenal star after he was ‘hammered’ for signing him two years ago.
The manager has received much praise since returning to the Emirates in 2019, turning a struggling team into Premier League title contenders in just a few years.
While trophies have escaped them of late, Arsenal are well-placed to win silverware this year after a big summer of spending, bringing in the likes of Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres.
While not all of his purchases have been a hit, Arteta has overseen many successful signings during his managerial career, including Declan Rice, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Moreover, the signing of David Raya in 2023 was viewed as a mistake at the time, given the club already had an impressive goalkeeper in Aaron Ramsdale, who himself had not been at the Emirates long.
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The Gunners paid Brentford £3million to get Raya on loan before taking up the option to buy him permanently for £27m the following year and so far, he has been worth every single penny.
The Spain international has conceded just 81 goals in his first 99 appearances, keeping a remarkable 41 clean sheets (41.4 per cent clean sheet ratio) and winning back-to-back Premier League Golden Glove awards.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Nottingham Forest, Arteta was informed of Raya’s record, with one reporter calling it ‘pretty good’.
‘Pretty good? It’s the best in the history of the football club!’ the manager quickly exclaimed, with a huge grin on his face.
‘It’s unbelievable! And I was hammered when I brought him!
‘So that’s perspective as well. Very good to understand the game, and especially when a few months or years go by, it’s really good to look back as well and reflect on that.
‘Obviously with the help of everybody, I think he has a tremendous impact in the team. So congratulations, because what he’s done in that period is an exception.’
It should be noted Raya isn’t quite the best in Arsenal’s history, with the legendary David Seaman boasting a slightly better clean sheet ratio when comparing keepers who played in the modern era.
Arsenal goalkeepers ranked by clean sheet ratio
Only goalkeepers who played in the modern era and made over 100 appearances for Arsenal included
Nevertheless, Arteta is clearly delighted to have been vindicated by Raya’s signing and is hopeful the same will happen with Noni Madueke who joined from Chelsea in a deal worth up to £52m over the summer.
Gooners were not impressed with the transfer given the winger’s respectable but not outstanding record for the Blues, with a controversial petition against his signing reaching over 5,000 signatures.
Madueke has shut out the noise and made a positive start to the season, which has included scoring his first England goal, and he now has the big responsibility of filling in for the injured Bukayo Saka.
Asked if the 23-year-old’s form would give him a selection headache, Arteta replied: ‘I hope so, yes. When that day comes, that B [Bukayo Saka] is in his best condition and Noni the same, that’s what we want and I’m very happy to have him.
‘I think, looking back at what he’s done with the national team as well, I’ve spoken with Thomas [Tuchel] as well, very pleased with that. So he’s really good. He’s in a really, really good moment.’
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