Danny Murphy has questioned Arsenal's interest in Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.
Raya, 27, is available for transfer after rejecting two new contract offers, but nobody has been willing to meet the Bees' £40million asking price. The Londoners have already signed a replacement in the form of Mark Lekken, leaving the Spanish international in limbo.
Bayern Munich were credited with an interest in Raya's services earlier this week before Arsenal emerged as another potential suitor. The Gunners are long-term admirers of Raya, who worked with goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana at Brentford, and it is understood they would like him to compete with Aaron Ramsdale for the No.1 jersey.
But Murphy has been left baffled by the prospect of Mikel Arteta shelling out such a significant sum on Raya given Ramsdale's evolution over the past two years,
He told talkSPORT: "The Arsenal thing, I’m really struggling with that. "If you go and get him, what does it say to Aaron Ramsdale? Why do you need to pay £40m for a goalkeeper if you’re not going to start him?
"And from the flip side, if you’re David Raya, your next move has to be to a club where you’ll be number one. There’s no way he’s going to go somewhere and be happy with being the No. 2. The only way you get him in is if you say he’s starting."
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Ramsdale quickly usurped Bernd Leno as Arsenal's No.1 after joining the club in the summer of 2021 and was an ever-present in the league last year as the Gunners ran Manchester City close in the title race.
And while it's likely he would retain the No.1 shirt should Raya join the club in the coming weeks, a recent report from The Athletic has outlined that Arsenal would be Raya's preferred destination; indicating that he is willing to start the campaign as second-chance behind Ramsdale.
Brentford have been open about Raya's availability for weeks as they seek to bank a transfer fee for his services instead of losing him for nothing when his contract expires next summer.
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Brentford boss Thomas Frank reiterated the club's stance towards Raya over the weekend, telling BBC Sport: "David is a Brentford player so far and I haven’t been told anything different. It’s an open secret that we are willing to sell him for the right amount.
He’s training hard and a good professional.Right now he’s at the club and then we will find the best to do. I think it’s natural that he would like to leave if it’s a good opportunity for him. We all think it’s a good idea at the right price. That probably means going towards that and focusing on the other keepers we have, I think that is completely natural."
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