David Raya set to join Arsenal from Brentford
Brentford manager Thomas Frank has confirmed David Raya is due to join Arsenal imminently. The Spain international has entered the final year of his current contract and had been targeted by Tottenham earlier in the transfer window.
Arsenal, however, are set to win the race and sign the 27-year-old, initially on loan but will retain a £27million option to buy the goalkeeper next summer after he agreed to sign a new deal with Brentford.
Raya to provide competition for Ramsdale
Speaking ahead of Sundays’ Premier League opener against Spurs, Frank said: ‘I expect the deal to be completed with Arsenal. He is not here at the moment and he won’t be involved on Sunday.’
Asked, meanwhile, if Raya would arrive in time to be in contention to make his debut against Nottingham Forest tomorrow, Mikel Arteta said: ‘We have no news on any incoming.’
Raya will, however, provide significant competition for Aaron Ramsdale, the hero of last weekend’s Community Shield win over Manchester City.
Arteta’s thoughts on competition
Asked if he was concerned by how certain players might react to the challenge of retaining their places in his starting line-up, Arteta added: ‘Well that’s what we’ve been trying to do, increase the depth of the squad and the quality as well and the ability to be more flexible and have more quality and more interaction with players who can make us better and that’s the whole point of it.
‘I think you have to treat everyone with importance and make them feel important so at the end they have to play football matches.
‘It’s a collective sport there’s 11 who play and another 11 most of the time that they are not happy with the situation it’s how they deal with that and how they accept their role.
‘It’s going to change, there’s a game every three days and that’s going to change. It tells you a lot about the human being when they are playing or when they’re not what is your contribution?
‘I want players that they are happy when the team wins and that’s what we try to build.’
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