‘He’s surprised me even more’ – David Raya hails ‘incredible’ Arsenal team-mate ahead of Athletic Club clash | OneFootball

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya says Martin Zubimendi has surprised him with just how good he is since joining the Gunners.

Raya’s Spain team-mate completed his move from Real Sociedad this summer and scored twice in the win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

“He’s incredible,” Raya said.

“I’ve shared the dressing room with the national team and now he’s here he’s even surprised me even more.

“He’s a player that’s so intelligent. He knows how to play for the team, he doesn’t play for himself. His positioning in defence and attack is incredible. It’s a credit to have him.”

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Athletic Club in the Champions League, Raya also reflected on his time at the club so far.

Reflecting on his decision to leave a comfortable starting spot at Brentford to fight for the position at Arsenal, he feels he has vindicated the bold call made by Mikel Arteta.

“I came here to take a step further in my career and I think it was the right decision,” he said.

“When I came here, Aaron [Ramsdale] was the goalkeeper and he was playing. A similar situation with other keepers that come to a club to push the other goalkeeper or the other players, and I just tried to do my best on and off the pitch and give the reason to the boss to pick me to play games.”

The Gunners are looking to build on last season’s run that ended in a semi-final defeat to eventual winners PSG.

Asked what he learned from the defeat, he replied: “We had an incredible campaign last year. We were short. We lost against PSG – the current holders of the Champions League. We want to aim higher this season.

“[We learned] that it hurts a lot, losing in the semi-final. That’s one of the things that you learn, but you get more mature. This is the third season in a row that we are in the Champions League. 2016 was the last year before this period. So, we are so happy to be here and play in this competition. We just have to take it game by game, but it’s just incredible to be here.”

Raya brought up his 100th appearance in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the weekend, racking up a remarkable 42 clean sheets along the way.

Discussing the remarkable achievement, Raya said: “I think it was maybe two years ago that I made my debut against Everton. From there, it’s just been incredible being a part of this football club and having that record as well – 100 games with 42 clean sheets is just incredible. That is credit to the team and staff, with how hard we work to try and win games.”