David Raya defies goalkeeping giants as height debate sharpens before PSG final | OneFootball

David Raya is challenging the age of goalkeeping giants, his 1.83m frame fronting Arsenal’s Champions League final against PSG at 18:00 on Saturday. According to L'Équipe, he has been the world’s outstanding goalkeeper this season.

Officially 1.83m, the Spaniard is an outlier in a game suspicious of keepers under 1.90m, while fellow finalist Matvei Safonov stands 1.92m. Raya, 30, remains Unai Simon’s deputy for Spain.

Jérémie Janot sees no obvious weakness, pointing to exceptional explosiveness, sharp positioning and modern game-reading. Christophe Lollichon praises his proactivity and intelligent starting points, judging Raya the Premier League’s most assertive under high balls, with sharp depth management and uncompromising duels.

Grégory Coupet, himself 1.81m, argues mobility and command matter more than pure reach, questioning the value of being two metres tall without leaving the line and citing Gianluigi Donnarumma. Janot notes some coaches feel reassured by a 1.90m presence, while Albert Rust recalls set-piece plans that protected or freed a shorter keeper, as Monaco once did for Jean-Luc Ettori, 1.73m.

A believer in taller profiles, Lollichon suggests that with Raya’s force of will Thibaut Courtois would be beyond the summit. Mickaël Landreau, 1.84m, says Raya offers hope yet shows 1.83m goalkeepers must be exceptional as the tallest keep improving, adding he sees no deficiency in Courtois or Manuel Neuer and that France long overlooked 1.95m as the ideal.

Landreau reflects he might have had a different career at 1.95m, and calls Raya an exception. Meanwhile six of the season’s eight European finalists, across men and women, have Spanish goalkeeping coaches.

Source: L'Équipe