David Raya lifted the lid on the moment he knew had to “f***ing change” after making two calamitous mistakes against Luton Town.
The Arsenal goalkeeper joined the Premier League giants on loan from Brentford in 2023 before securing a permanent deal in the summer of 2024 with the Gunners splashing out £27million on the Spaniard.
While the 29-year-old began his debut season at the Emirates Stadium as second-choice behind Aaron Ramsdale, he soon got his chance to impress Mikel Arteta as he started in their 1-0 win away to Everton in September last season.
Raya never looked back after that game at Goodison Park as he firmly established himself as Arsenal’s number one, but tough times would come three months later at Kenilworth Road.
With the Gunners leading 2-1 at the break, Raya made a huge mess of attempting to deal with a corner with his failing flap at the ball allowing Elijah Adebayo to head home for the home side’s equaliser.
The goalkeeper was at fault again less than 10 minutes later, as Ross Barkley’s shot inside the box went through Raya and into the back of the net, with Luton taking a 3-2 lead. While Arsenal clawed back a third through Kai Havertz and an eventual 97th-minute winner courtesy of Declan Rice, his error-prone performance haunted him.
During an appearance on the Seaman Says podcast, brought to you by Betway and hosted by Arsenal goalkeeping icon David Seaman, the Spain international admitted he knew something had to change after that night.
“I think we saw one David before the Luton game, and one David after Luton. That was a turning point of when I was at my lowest. That was the worst game I ever played as a professional. I just said to myself, ‘I need to f***ing change’. Sorry about the language.
(Image: Bradley Collyer/PA)
“I needed to change things, and I needed to turn it around because I wasn’t myself. So from there, I think we saw an improving David in goal and off the pitch. I think this season, from the start of the season, there’s been another goalie more like myself. I don’t think I was myself the whole season last year.”
He cited the magnitude of moving to a global club like Arsenal from Brentford and the pressure that comes with it. He revealed that he’s now realised that having fun while playing competitive football is the difference between the Raya now and the one that existed prior to the Luton game.
“It was just an adaptation season because it’s difficult to come from Brentford to a big team. All the noise, of course, you can not listen to it, but you know it’s behind you, so it’s tough. To turn it around to this season, I think I’m just myself, I’m just having fun playing. That’s the most important thing for a player.
(Image: YouTube/SeamanSays)
“If you don’t have fun, you’re not going to be your best version. So I’m having fun every single game, enjoying playing and just taking the challenges. The pressure from last season to this season is completely different, in my opinion.
“I always said the pressures are what you put on yourself because you know how good you are, what you can do, and then just don’t listen to the outside world.”
His new-look approach certainly worked as he was awarded the Premier League Golden Glove last season and was also named in the PFA Team of the Year. He’s currently on track to retain his award as he has nine clean sheets so far this season, level with Everton’s Jordan Pickford.
Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel
Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london’s dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!
By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.
To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!
If you’re curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.
