Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya is normally a commanding presence between the posts for the Gunners and has rarely been the subject of serious criticism.
That changed on Saturday night, however, when the 31-year-old was given a rare opportunity to start for Spain and came under heavy scrutiny from the Spanish media.
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Luis de la Fuente’s team secured a 3-1 victory over Czechia, with Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino among the goalscorers, but Raya’s display left plenty for the goalkeeper to reflect on.
The Arsenal goalkeeper was selected from the start for the first time since March, having spent all of Spain’s previous 10 matches on the bench as Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon remained the preferred option.
Although Raya conceded just once, he was fortunate not to have been beaten on more occasions.
Raya went from one of the best goalkeeper in the PL to dropping a stinker every game pic.twitter.com/Yksel682KL
— Saheedly (@UTD_Sidoff) October 4, 2026
Jiri Slama found the net against him in the 69th minute, while Raya nearly gifted Czechia another goal 15 minutes later after making a costly-looking mistake from a routine free-kick.
Czechia initially believed they had restored parity, but their goal was ruled out after Robin Le Normand was judged to have been fouled before the ball found the net.
El Pais summed up Raya’s performance with a single word, describing him as ‘intranquilo’, which translates to ‘uncomfortable’. The publication suggested that he appeared like a ‘debutant’ at certain moments.
The criticism continued elsewhere, with AS describing Raya as ‘lucky’ that his mistake did not result in a goal, while Mundo Deportivo also highlighted the goalkeeper’s visible nerves during the match.
