The Arsenal stopper currently has Unai Simon in his way and, considering the Athletic Bilbao ace helped La Roja win Euro 2024, he’s pretty strong competition for Raya.
However, Simon is currently recovering from surgery on a wrist injury and, according to Marca, may not be back until the end of the year.
This means Raya has at least four games for Spain, including Thursday night’s match, in which to stake a claim for a permanent spot in between the sticks.
The Arsenal ace played the full 90 minutes as La Roja drew 0-0 with Serbia in their Nations League clash in Belgrade.
Several Spanish media outlets ran post-match ratings pieces and delivered their respective verdicts on Raya’s seventh appearance for his nation.
Mixed reaction towards how Arsenal ace David Raya did for Spain
Marca gave the Arsenal ace a 6 out of 10 rating for both halves, and though they seemed content with his efforts, there was some mild criticism.
‘He didn’t have many problems in the first half hour of the match, although he looked a bit indecisive when he came out,’ they wrote. ‘The first save came after the half hour mark.’
Then, for the second half, they wrote: ‘He took his fists out on one occasion for the Serbians at the start of the second half. He had no complications and ended up with a clean slate.’
Meanwhile, AS was more optimistic, writing: “He has four months ahead of him, and therefore at least four games, to prove that he is at least as good as Unai Simon.
“He did well last night in Belgrade. It was supposed to be a smooth game and he had to work as hard as he knows how.”
Finally, El Desmarque gave Raya 5 out of 10, adding: “He made some mistakes when passing the ball out with dangerous passes and barely had to intervene from the goal.”
Arsenal strike gold with Raya signing
Arsenal paid £27million to sign Raya from Brentford, and it’s very quickly starting to look like a bargain for the Gunners.
Although Raya has a tough job on his hands trying to dislodge Simon from in between the Spanish sticks, he will certainly fancy his chances with a World Cup on the horizon.
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