David Raya has had a fine start to the 2024/25 season with Arsenal, but his double save against Atalanta in Thursday’s UEFA Champions League game will go down as one of the highlights of his career.
The Spain international signed permanently for the Gunners in July this year after the club activated a purchase clause in the loan deal they agreed with Brentford 12 months earlier.
While there are questions about whether Arsenal really needed to bring in Raya, given how well Aaron Ramsdale has largely played under Mikel Arteta, the 29-year-old has justified the manager’s decision. He won the Premier League Golden Glove last season for keeping the most clean sheets in the top flight, while his two saves in a penalty shootout against Porto helped his side reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Last August, against Aston Villa, Raya made a spectacular save from Ollie Watkins’ header after the ball hit the crossbar. However, a month later, he managed to top that feat.
David Raya’s save against Atalanta is ‘one of the best of all time’
With the score at 0-0, Atalanta were awarded a penalty in the third minute of the second half of the Champions League group stage match in Bergamo, after Ederson was fouled by Thomas Partey. Mateo Retegui stepped up to shoot and, after a long pause and a hesitant run, he fired to Raya’s right.
Raya guessed correctly – he was deep in conversation with goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana before the kick – but he could only parry Retegui’s attempt towards the striker. Retegui headed the ball towards goal with the goal at his mercy, but after passing the ball back to the diving Raya, the Arsenal keeper made a spectacular one-handed save to win the ball back on the goal line.
Former Premier League midfielder Robbie Savage, who commentated on TNT Sport in the UK, described the save as “one of the best I’ve ever seen”. Fans on social media were quick to echo those sentiments as footage of Raya’s save went viral.
Watch Raya’s stop in the United States:
DAVID RAYA WITH A STUNNING DOUBLE SAVE ? pic.twitter.com/O6xGhOpS7F
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 19, 2024
Canada:
UNREAL BY DAVID RAYA ?
Look at it #UCL live on https://t.co/6e0eQThQd3 pic.twitter.com/kt4kmznZpY
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) September 19, 2024
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How much did Arsenal pay for David Raya?
Raya cost £27 million ($35.9 million) from Arsenal in July 2024. The player had joined on loan from Brentford a year earlier, but the deal included a purchase option which the Gunners decided to activate after his impressive 2023/24 season.
