London, Aug 15 English football club Arsenal on Tuesday signed Spanish goalkeeper David Raya on a season-long loan from Brentford FC with the option to make the move permanent.
The 27-year-old has been an integral part of the Brentford team in recent seasons, and played in all 38 of their Premier League matches last season.
He will provide competition for England keeper Aaron Ramsdale and wear the number 22 shirt.
"I'm over the moon to be able to take this challenge in my career and make the step up. I'm really excited to get going and see how the season ends up. I spoke to the boss and he sent me the values of what Arsenal are about. The way that the club is going, it's growing even more so it is a beautiful challenge to take and I couldn't say no," Raya said after putting pen to paper.
"I've seen Arsenal a lot for a lot of years and since [Mikel] came he’s made a massive difference to the style of play and the club. The way the team plays out of the back, being confident and taking possession of the other team is the main thing why I fit into the team. I’m going to try and help as much as possible and we’ll see what happens," he added.
Born in Barcelona, David came to England as a 16-year-old when he signed for Blackburn Rovers as an academy player. A short-term loan to Southport in the National League, promotion to the Championship with Rovers and 108 senior appearances later, saw David depart Lancashire for West London in July 2019.
He went on to make 161 appearances in all competitions for Thomas Frank’s team, and his first season for Brentford ended with his performances being rewarded with the EFL Golden Glove and narrowly missing out on Premier League promotion.
He didn't have to wait too long to play in the top tier of English football when the following season David played a key role as Brentford beat Swansea City in the 2021 Championship play-off final to secure promotion.
Last year came with great success for David on the international stage; he was called up to represent Spain in March 2022, making his debut in a 2-1 win against Albania. David was then selected for Spain’s 2022 FIFA World Cup squad.
The end of the 2022-23 season saw David lift silverware with his country when Spain beat Croatia on penalties to win the 2023 UEFA Nations League.
--IANS
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