‘Very, very good’: Arsenal reportedly now want to sign £40m star Ian Wright lauded earlier this year

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Arsenal continue to spring the surprises in the summer transfer window, with the Gunners now reportedly eyeing a potential move for David Raya.

The Athletic is reporting that Brentford are aware of Mikel Arteta’s interest in signing Raya. Arsenal would like to have the Spaniard batting with Aaron Ramsdale for the number one spot at the Emirates.

It is not a surprise that Arsenal are admirers of David Raya. It is not the first time that links between the Gunners and the 27-year-old have emerged. However, it is intriguing that Arsenal are now considering a move at a time when Ramsdale has been so outstanding.

Arsenal would have taken many by surprise by targeting Kai Havertz at the start of the window. And few would have been talking about Jurrien Timber before the summer arrived. So perhaps we should have expected more interesting links to emerge.

Wright lauded Arsenal target Raya earlier this year

It remains to be seen if Arsenal do indeed now make their move for Raya. But one club legend who may perhaps love to see him arrive is Ian Wright.

It was only just a few months ago that Wright was lauding Raya on Premier League Productions (6/3; 19:40) – backing him for a potential move to a bigger club.

“Well, Raya’s already turned down a contract and he has two appearances for the national team in Spain,” he said.

“He is somebody that wants to win trophies. He’s a very, very good goalkeeper. You can see that he probably needs to make, in his own mind, go to that next level of club to elevate himself more.

“He obviously wants to see him being Spain’s number one. A bigger club might happen for him. But he is a very, very good goalkeeper.”

Some Arsenal fans may be delighted to hear that the club want Raya. Ramsdale was exceptional at times last season. But he has also made some errors at times. And with that, some may view Raya as an upgrade.

However, questions have to be asked about whether this is the best way for Arsenal to spend £40 million. Matt Turner has been a decent understudy. And if Raya comes in, it is hard to imagine Arteta being able to keep him and Ramsdale happy for a long time.

If Turner was the number one, you could see why Arsenal would want to spend £40 million on Raya. But given that they have already spent a huge sum in this window, surely there are better ways to spend what remains in their budget.

It would be interesting to see what Wright makes of the fresh links.