David Raya will be Arsenal’s first signing of the summer and the stats show he has been a masterstroke

Mikel Arteta might already have an idea about his first summer signing. Arsenal could soon confirm David Raya as their first signing of the summer.

Last summer, the Gunners had to comply with FFP regulations, so they couldn’t afford a permanent Raya swoop. Instead, they managed to secure him on a loan deal worth £3 million, with an obligation to sign him on loan.

What a signing Raya was! He has really impressed in Arsenal colours! Despite missing six league games, he has proven to be the top goalkeeper in the Premier League, scooping the Golden Glove. He’s been making some incredible saves game after game, keeping the most cleansheets (15 cleansheets in 30 games so far, which is seriously impressive), and has significantly improved Arsenal’s distribution by completing 37.4% of his passes, which is better than Ramsdale’s 25.4% last season. The Spaniard has also claimed 12.2 per cent of crosses faced this season, a better record than any other keeper in Europe’s top five leagues. Aaron Ramsdale’s rate was 5.8 last season which is proof that Raya is an upgrade.

Most Gooners must be pleased with the Spanish shot-stopper. Interestingly, Arteta and his technical bench have not just been impressed by the goalie’s stats and top-notch goalkeeping, but also by one of his unique qualities.

He’s really impressed the technical bench with how he responds to errors in his performances. This probably makes those at the club see him as someone who is ready to get better.

That said, surely Arsenal decision-makers are confident in Raya’s goalkeeping abilities and must plan to secure him as a permanent signing by paying the £27 million option.

There are a lot of deals that the Gooners are looking forward to this summer, and it seems like a £27 million swoop for Raya could be the start of Arsenal’s summer spending spree.