David Raya was Europe's best goalkeeper last season - so why isn't Arsenal shot-stopper starting for Spain at the World Cup?

Not only is Raya English football's best goalkeeper, he is Europe's, too, based on clean sheets. The 30-year-old remarkably collected his third consecutive Premier League Golden Glove at the end of 2025-26 having racked up a ridiculous 19 shutouts - his most impressive season to date - to help Arsenal end their long, long wait for a league title.

The Gunners quite simply wouldn't have done it without him, with his shot-stopping ability in vital moments second to none. A long list of highlights includes his fingertip stop in the 1-0 win over Manchester United, a flying save in another narrow victory over Brighton, two more as the Gunners edged Chelsea, and, of course, the miraculous piece of 'keeping to deny Mateus Fernandes in the seismic triumph over West Ham in the run-in.

Raya's stats of 19 clean sheets in 37 games and just 26 goals conceded also earned him the European Golden Glove ahead of his compatriot Joan Garcia (15), and he now ranks in the all-time top 10 for most shutouts in a Premier League season, putting him in very esteemed goalkeeping company. His form also translated to the Champions League, where he kept nine clean sheets in 14 appearances in the north Londoners' run to the final.

However, quite surprisingly, those performances have not been enough to make Raya a guaranteed starter for his country, with head coach De la Fuente instead sticking with Simon, despite the fact the Athletic Club stopper is statistically not even the second-best goalkeeper in his squad.

In Spain, the argument over who should be first-choice between the sticks actually centres on Barcelona's Garcia, who enjoyed an excellent debut campaign with the Blaugrana. The perception seems to be that, despite his outstanding displays, Raya has actually been somewhat out of sight and out of mind because he plies his trade overseas in England.

The 'keeper even revealed in a pre-tournament press conference that "sometimes they asked who I was" when he was first called up to the national team.

De la Fuente acknowledged that in the lead-up to the World Cup, telling the media: "We have David Raya, who I'm eager for you to ask me about. In England, they consider him the best goalkeeper in the world, and here nobody talks about him." However, it seems the Spain boss hasn't really listened to the praise himself.

Raya has spent time as Spain's No.1 in the not-too-distant past, but his tenure was short-lived as De la Fuente promptly returned to his preferred option. That spell came when Simon was out with a wrist injury during the first half of the 2024-25 season, opening the door to his understudy to stake a claim to the gloves.

The Arsenal man started five of La Roja's six UEFA Nations League group games, keeping three clean sheets, but as soon as Simon was fit again in early 2025, he found himself back on the bench, including in the Nations League finals despite the key role he had played in getting his country to Germany.

Raya earned his first cap since that run in the team in Spain's friendly against Egypt in March before playing 45 minutes in the World Cup warm-up game against Peru, but that wasn't a precursor to him becoming their No.1 at the tournament, as he was forced to watch the frustrating opening draw with Cape Verde the from the bench.

Why, then, isn't Raya Spain's No.1 goalkeeper despite his consistently outstanding performances at club level? The answer to that isn't rooted in complex data, statistics or even tactics - it simply comes down to loyalty.

Simon has been De la Fuente's first-choice since he replaced Luis Enrique as La Roja's head coach after the 2022 World Cup, and he sees no reason to move on from the stopper who helped him to win Euro 2024, despite the form of the other glovesmen at his disposal.

"It would be unfair if we didn't value Unai's quality, class, career, and professional experience," the manager said when questioned about Simon's selection before the tournament. "It would be absurd for me to have to come here and reaffirm it, just because he's Unai Simon. When a goalkeeper is at this level, you have to respect his standing and his career."

He added: "[...] Unai Simon is indisputable. The others have a lot of talent and class, but everything in its own time."

However, both Arsenal and Barcelona fans will be questioning whether that is blind loyalty from the Spain boss. As we've touched upon, Simon is by far the weakest of the three goalkeepers De la Fuente has called up, statistically.

You need only glance at the number of goals the Athletic Club man conceded last season to understand why there is ongoing scrutiny of his starting place; the 29-year-old shipped a whopping 73 in 2025-26, which is more than twice as many as Raya (31) and significantly more than Garcia (42), and kept just eight clean sheets all season in 46 appearances - a meagre percentage of just 17.4.

In terms of the goalkeeping metric of goals prevented, Simon also lags well behind on -6.86. Garcia is out in front in that department with 9.7, ahead of Raya's 4.39. There was previously a perception that Simon was better at playing out from the back, but his 58% passing accuracy for last season is inferior to both his team-mates' (Raya 65% and Garcia 90%), undermining that school of thought.

For his part, Raya has been incredibly diplomatic amid what must be a very frustrating wait for his chance, putting the collective cause over his individual ambitions.

"I think Spain is in good hands, whoever plays," he told a press conference at Spain's training base in Chattanooga before their opening game. "Since Unai debuted, he has performed at a really high level. We have won the Nations League, the Euros with him and he's a great goalkeeper who has given us these titles."

He added: "I am doing my job for my club to be the best I can be and to be able to represent my country, which is the most important thing. I am here to help the team as much as possible and to win the second (World Cup) star."

Arsenal fans will be hoping he eventually gets the opportunity to show what he can do, and he might just have a chance. "The best news is that I have no doubts at all [about the goalkeepers]," De la Fuente said before the World Cup, suggesting it won't make a difference if someone else is forced to step in. "I have complete confidence in them. There's something special about them."

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