David Raya has a chance to lift the Champions League trophy for Arsenal on May 30, almost eight years after a collision that left him hospitalised and needing reconstructive surgery. The 30-year-old goalkeeper will walk into the final at the Puskas Arena with a season already packed with silverware and individual recognition.
That is why the search for the raya arsenal goalkeeper story is surging now. Raya was crowned a Premier League champion for the first time last week after Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, then added a third consecutive Golden Glove award with 19 clean sheets, four more than Gianluigi Donnarumma. Arsenal now face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final, and Raya can finish the campaign by lifting the biggest club prize in Europe.
His route to this point began with a sickening moment at Blackburn Rovers in 2018, when he collided with Jay Rodriguez. Tony Mowbray said the sight made players feel sick, adding that Raya was in hospital and that the bone at the top had been pushed into the skull almost and the nose was sort of hanging off really. Rodriguez said he felt gutted about his involvement, saying he had tried to get out of the way but caught him with the top of his foot.
Raya later said the injury was not stopping him from breathing and that surgery during the season would have kept him out for six to eight weeks. When he returned, he wore a protective mask for a fortnight, and the facial injury eventually led to reconstructive surgery. Two years ago, a side-by-side image of him at 29 and 19 drew comments from supporters who said he had a glow up, a reminder of how much that collision changed his appearance as well as his season.
Raya has also come a long way from non-league football with Southport to becoming a mainstay in Arsenal’s starting line-up. Now he is one match away from capping a remarkable season in Budapest, with Arsenal aiming to become the seventh English club to win the Champions League. After everything that followed that Blackburn collision, the final gives him the chance to finish the story on the biggest stage of all.
