David Raya vs Aaron Ramsdale | Which Goalkeeper Will be Arsenal’s Choice?

At the start of the season, we all knew that David Raya wasn’t going to remain at Brentford. But no one in their right mind thought that he would become a Gunner, especially with the likes of Aaron Ramsdale already occupying the spot between the posts. However, as soon as the loan switch became official, Raya took over the reins as the number-one goalie on the north side of London.

But was this the right decision to make? Has David Raya truly improved Arsenal and their defence? The David Raya vs Aaron Ramsdale remains a hotly contested topic. Something that we would like to analyse a bit more in debt.

David Raya vs Aaron Ramsdale Stats

David Raya replaced Ramsdale after Aaron played four games to start the season. In those four games, Ramsdale recorded only a single clean sheet. While Raya went on to record six in the following 13 games he played in the Premier League.

However, while David Raya Arsenal career started off great, with three clean sheets in four games, his output would lessen in the games that followed. He was found caught out of position on a few occasions, the most memorable being in the game against Chelsea.

On the other hand, Aaron Ramsdale stats show that he was able to match the passing output of Raya. Arteta said that he fancies a keeper with better pass accuracy, which Raya definitely is. However, comparing him to Aaron shows that he displayed 78% passing accuracy as opposed to the 77% that Ramadale had.

As far as long balls go, Raya is better with 43% as opposed to the 33% that Ramsdale has. After viewing these stats, the question still remains: is David Raya good enough to be the number one goalkeeper at Arsenal?

David Raya vs Aaron Ramsdale Rating

The main reason why Raya came on was not only his passing potential. He had better shot-stopping stats during the previous year in the Premier League. Ramsdale was able to keep 14 clean sheets compared to 12 that Raya had. The Englishman also conceded a lesser number of goals, with 43 as opposed to 46.

However, what made Arteta interested in making the switch was that Raya made 154 saves (77.7 % of save accuracy) compared to 94 shots stopped (70.6% of saves) that Ramsdale had.

Raya also fared better in the air as he prevented 8.7% of crosses. In comparison, Ramsdale gathered up only 5.8% of crosses. Raya also acts as a much better sweeper-keeper. He reacted in 54 defensive actions, while Ramsdale has done so on 43 occasions.

Arteta initially stated that he wanted to promote healthy competition by bringing in David Raya. However, as the season progressed, he made his stance clear on who the leading goalkeeper was. The stats don’t really show that Raya has improved Arsenal’s defence by a great margin. But if they manage to win the EPL title, his calculations would have proven right.