Arsenal set to sign David Raya on loan from Brentford

Arsenal have reached an agreement with Brentford to sign wantaway Spanish goalkeeper David Raya, claims The Athletic.

The 27-year-old will join the Gunners on an initial season-long loan move with an option to make the transfer permanent next summer.

Arsenal will pay £3 million in loan fees, with a £27m buy option that can be activated at the end of the season.

Mikel Arteta is keen to provide competition for Aaron Ramsdale, who experienced a drop-off in form at the tail end of last season.

Raya has been identified as the man to keep his English counterpart on his toes following a hugely impressive individual campaign with Brentford.

Raya was a standout performer for the Bees last season, making 154 saves and racking up 12 clean sheets – the third-highest in the division.

He also accumulated 4.1 saves per match, which ranked him above every other goalkeeper in the Premier League.

Raya is confident on the ball and only committed one error leading to goal last term – although he could improve his on-the-ball ability after recording a 42% long pass accuracy.

The Spanish goalkeeper’s shortcomings are only a handful, and he is certainly the man to keep Ramsdale on his toes.

The terms of his transfer also gives Arsenal the chance to properly asses both goalkeepers before deciding who trumps the other as the first-choice goalkeeper in the long run.

Raya was also attracting interest from German champions Bayern Munich, who are scouring the market for a new goalkeeper.

However, the former Blackburn Rovers shot-stopper always favoured a switch to Arsenal, where he will be reunited with former Brentford goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana.

Raya has one year left to run on his contract with Thomas Frank’s side, but he is expected to sign an extension before completing his switch to the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners are keen to finalise the transfer before their Premier League curtain raiser at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.