Arsenal goalkeeper wary of Real Madrid ahead of UCL clash – ‘It’s their competition’ | OneFootball

Arsenal and Real Madrid are set to lock horns next month in the quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League.

Following a hard-fought and rather controversial win over Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16, the defending champions will have yet another tough fight against one of the Premier League’s finest teams, in the form of Arsenal.

One of Arsenal’s key players is David Raya, who is part of the Spanish contingent which is set to take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Nations League this week.

David Raya talks Real Madrid

Speaking ahead of the Netherlands game, Raya talked about the prospect of facing Real Madrid in the Champions League next month.

“We will try to make it as difficult as possible against Real Madrid. We will focus on putting in a great performance in the first leg, and more importantly, at the Bernabeu,” he said (h/t Sky Sports).

David Raya has been a top performer at Arsenal (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Raya has been the undisputed first-choice keeper for Arsenal since joining in 2023. He has featured in 42 competitive matches for the Gunners this season, notably keeping as many as 16 clean sheets.

Raya has impressively kept 11 clean sheets in 29 league matches while conceding only 24 goals. He has the second-highest clean sheets in the league, only behind Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels.

Nevertheless, Raya admitted that it could be a whole different ballgame against Real Madrid, even deeming their UCL as ‘their competition’.

“We know what Real Madrid are like in the Champions League. We can say that it’s their competition,” said Raya, whose immediate focus will be the Nations League games against the Netherlands.

The Arsenal goalkeeper, though, is unlikely to start ahead of Unai Simon for La Roja tonight, despite his solid form in the Premier League.