David Raya gives verdict on crazy Mikel Arteta Arsenal training methods
Mikel Arteta has helped rebuild Arsenal into a title-challenging team, but he has raised a few eyebrows along the way.
One particularly surprising decision came when he chose to sign Brentford goalkeeper David Raya to replace Aaron Ramsdale, but after a questionable start, the Spaniard flourished in North London.
Raya was named in the PFA Team of the Season as he won the Golden Glove, and Ramsdale now looks set to depart Arsenal.
It was a decision which many questioned, but later supported Arteta on, and this has been a common theme in his managerial career.
Some of Arteta’s more eccentric methods have raised eyebrows, with a story about the manager hiring pickpockets at an Arsenal squad dinner to teach his players the importance of being alert drawing a lot of attention.
With Arteta in the audience as Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard were named in the Team of the Year, some may have been wary about any more Arteta ideas being implemented during the evening.
Raya has now given his verdict on his manager’s crazy methods, and it appears that he has learned the key lesson from the pickpocket incident.
“We just have to be on our toes all the time, that’s all,” Raya responded when asked about the pickpockets incident.
David Raya’s rapid improvement at Arsenal
Arteta’s mad methods clearly have merit to them, as evidenced by Raya’s rapid improvement in his time at the club.
In December, Raya suffered a disastrous performance away at Luton, as he was directly at fault for some of the goals, and pressure was ramped up on Arteta to bring Ramsdale back into the fold.
However, Arteta stuck with Raya, and reaped the rewards. The Spaniard grew in confidence, and his excellent aerial ability and distribution started to shine through.
Raya had an incredible defence in front of him, but he definitely played his part in Arsenal’s superb defensive record, whilst he also helped start several counter-attacks with his quick thinking. Raya
is now the undisputed number one, and Arteta deserves credit for recruiting and developing him.
