Peter Schmeichel admitted that he was forced to eat his words about Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
Premier League-winning goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has claimed Arsenal would not have won the title last season without David Ray. The Spanish shot-stopper has been an evolutionary signing for the Gunners since arriving from Brentford, and the big Danish goalkeeper has been proven wrong.
Raya kept 19 clean sheets in 37 league appearances last term and won the Golden Glove with Mikel Arteta’s side as they ended the north London club’s 20-year wait to return to the English top flight. The Basque tactician has won praise for his bold decision to bring Ryan in to compete with Aaron Ramsdale, who joined Arsenal from Sheffield United for a fee rising to £30million.
Schmeichel says he has been instrumental in the success of Arsenal’s current shot-stopper, who has established himself as a great Premier League goalkeeper.
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“David Raya did really well. I was really surprised,” he said.
“I have to give Mikel Arteta some credit because when Aaron Ramsdale was at Arsenal I thought he played really well. “I liked his aggression, his take-up and all that, so I was surprised they brought in another goalkeeper and it was him. [Raya].
“But when I won the championship last season, I interviewed him and said: ‘You know, if you didn’t have this goal, you wouldn’t be close to the championship.
“I absolutely mean it because he made all the important saves. To win the Premier League you have to take chances and get more people forward.
“As I said before, it means defending with fewer men and the chances that come from that, he’s been making big saves at important times. One of the things he’s improved massively is coming in on crosses.
“And he’s gotten to the point where when he gets a chance, he’s like, ‘No, he’s going to save her, there’s no point.’ You have that feeling before it happens, and it’s going well.”
Arteta was not shy about praising Ryan’s number one who came in for praise for his “elite mentality”. He said last month: “I don’t know – he’s a great signing, there’s no question about that. It’s just an opinion whether he’s the best.
“It doesn’t matter, we are very happy to have him. He has taken the team to a different level and now we have to maintain that level.
“I think it’s his mentality. David has great quality, but he’s overcome a lot of difficulties and challenges to get to this point. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, he had to dig deep and prove himself. Now he has the right to be one of the best.”