Arsenal have already strengthened well in the summer window. Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber improve Mikel Arteta's options in attack, midfield and defence. Despite shipping 43 league goals last season, the third fewest in the division, Arteta is still looking at areas of improvement, with the goalkeeping position now up for grabs.

Heading into the summer, that may have seemed unthinkable. While Arteta may have wished to strengthen between the sticks, it would have been a low priority. Aaron Ramsdale did little wrong last season and while a goalkeeper with better distribution would have been welcomed, it wasn't enough to splash the cash to improve on a goalkeeper.

And yet, Arsenal have today completed a move for Brentford's David Raya. North London rivals Tottenham were the frontrunners for the Spaniard earlier in the year, but were unable to agree a fee with the Bees for the 27-year-old. Despite Raya having less than a year to run on his current deal in west London, Brentford remained firm on their £40m valuation of the Spain international.

Spurs instead signed Guglielmo Vicario as the replacement for the experienced Hugo Lloris at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and it seemed increasingly likely that Raya would remain at Brentford. They have already secured his successor in Dutchman Mark Flekken, who joined from Freiburg, so are under no obligation to waiver on their asking price, though there is the risk they lose Raya for free next summer.

Bayern had been credited with an interest in Raya, but Arsenal are now the rumoured frontrunners for his services. While Ramsdale hasn't necessarily put a foot wrong, for any top team to remain competitive, they need to look at ways to upgrade, and it's fair to say that Raya would be an improvement on the England international.

Raya was one of the Premier League's busiest goalkeepers last season. Only three teams faced more shots per game than Brentford (14.7) in England's top tier last term, but the Bees man dealt with the threat with relative ease. Indeed, Raya made more saves (154) and boasted a better save success rate (75.1%) than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League last season. By comparison, Ramsdale made 94 saves and returned a save success rate of 69.3%.

Ramsdale had less to do than Raya, which is why he made considerably fewer saves, and yet on the occasions he was tested, fared worse than the latter. A key reason behind Arsenal's interest in Raya, though, will be his distribution. The Brentford man has made a name for himself as one one of the better distributors in the Premier League, and this is noted in that he made more accurate long balls (410) than any other player in the 2022/23 campaign. By comparison Ramsalde made just 138 accurate long balls.

Even having attempted far more long balls, Raya's success rate of 42.1% dwarfed Ramsdale's return of 29.2%, that the third worst of goalkeepers to make 15 or more appearances. Despite his solid shotstopping ability, evidently Arteta has identified a weakness to Ramsdale's game that can be improved upon with the acquisition of Raya.

Whether Arsenal can negotiate that £40m asking price down remains to be seen, but with core areas already improved upon this summer, the Gunners are willing to go that bit further with the potentially big money addition of Raya. Ramsdale may have established himself as a fan favourite at the Emirates, however when the opportunity to upgrade in a key position is on the cards, it's imperative any club, regardless of stature, takes that chance.

Arsenal finished just five points behind Manchester City last season, and the signings of Havertz, Rice and Timber suggests that gap will be closer in 2023/24. The signing of Raya could perhaps be the most important as they seek to usurp City atop the Premier League perch in the coming campaign.