Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has clinched the 2023-24 Premier League Golden Glove award.
The 28-year-old has secured the prize during his debut season with the north London club.
Raya sealed his 16th Premier League clean sheet of the season during Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United. His closest competitor, Everton’s Jordan Pickford, came in second with 13.
In an interview with his club’s website, he said: “Clean sheets are a weird one because obviously goalkeepers get the praise but it’s a collective thing,” he said. “I’ve always said we start defending from the striker and end up with me, the goalie, but I think everybody has their targets and that’s the biggest thing that could happen to a keeper.
“For me, it’s a collective thing, but the trophy is for the goalie so one of the nicest things you can have. It’s just incredible to leave your name there for the rest of the history of the Premier League. It’s something special that I’ll never forget.
“I didn’t aim for it, I just wanted to leave my mark here. I wanted to start playing as soon as possible, compete and be part of this great football club. Down the line, we just started keeping clean sheets and going higher up the table. I didn’t think about the trophy until someone said I was top of the standings.”
Raya becomes the third Arsenal goalkeeper to capture the Golden Glove, following in the footsteps of Wojciech Szczesny and Petr Cech, who earned the honour in 2013-14 and 2015-16 with 16 clean sheets each.
He joins David de Gea and Pepe Reina as the third Spaniard to claim the award, with De Gea winning it in 2017-18 and 2022-23, and Reina securing it in three consecutive seasons from 2005-06 to 2007-08.
Raya, meanwhile, joined Arsenal on loan from Brentford last summer.
The deal saw him move across London for an initial £3million loan fee with the option of making the switch permanent for a further £27m this summer.
He has made 40 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal this season.
Earlier this year, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said on Raya: “What I like about David is the things he does in goal and the things he prevents that sometimes you don’t even see because they don’t happen — because he has anticipated them.
“He had a very challenging environment but I love players with the courage, character and personality that even when it’s like this, they want to be themselves and they push themselves to do that. He has earned the right to be very respected and I’m very happy he’s doing it.”
(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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