In the summer of 2023, Aaron Ramsdale was Arsenal’s undisputed No.1. He’d just helped them finish second in the Premier League, and his energy and antics had made him a fan favourite.

So when Mikel Arteta brought in David Raya from Brentford that summer, plenty of people were surprised. Ramsdale soon lost his place, and he left for Southampton a year later.

Peter Schmeichel praises Mikel Arteta for signing David Raya

Speaking on Overlap Daily, Schmeichel said he had to give Arteta credit for the decision to bring in David Raya.

“He’s done really well, hasn’t he? You know what? I was really surprised,” he said. “I have to give Arteta some credit, because when Ramsdale was playing for Arsenal, I thought he did really well. I liked him. I liked his aggression. He was flying out and all of that. I really liked him, and I was surprised that they brought another goalkeeper in and that it was him.”

Schmeichel even claims that Arsenal wouldn’t have won the title last season without Raya. “I said when they won the Championship, just so you know, if you had not been in that goal, you would have been nowhere near the championship. And I mean that. I absolutely mean that,” he said.

That’s more than fair. Raya has won the Premier League Golden Glove three seasons in a row, and this season he’s aiming to become the first goalkeeper ever to win it four times on the trot.

David Raya has ‘massively improved’ in one key area, says Peter Schmeichel

Schmeichel also picked out one part of Raya’s game that has come on a lot since he arrived. “One other thing where he has massively improved is coming for crosses,” he said.

“He’s got to the point where there’s a chance or there is an opportunity, and you kind of think, no, he’s going to save it. It’s not going to be a goal. You kind of have that feeling before it happens.”

That’s carried into this season, too. Arsenal are the only side in the Champions League yet to concede after two games, despite playing without William Saliba. Raya has been integral to that, and he is quickly making the case to become Arsenal’s greatest ever goalkeeper.