Arsenal and Actual Madrid are set to lock horns subsequent month within the quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League.
Following a hard-fought and somewhat controversial win over Atletico Madrid within the Spherical of 16, the defending champions could have yet one more robust battle in opposition to one of many Premier League’s best groups, within the type of Arsenal.
Certainly one of Arsenal’s key gamers is David Raya, who’s a part of the Spanish contingent which is ready to tackle the Netherlands within the quarterfinals of the UEFA Nations League this week.
David Raya talks Actual Madrid
Talking forward of the Netherlands recreation, Raya talked in regards to the prospect of going through Actual Madrid within the Champions League subsequent month.
“We are going to attempt to make it as troublesome as attainable in opposition to Actual Madrid. We are going to give attention to placing in an incredible efficiency within the first leg, and extra importantly, on the Bernabeu,” he mentioned (h/t ).
Raya has been the undisputed first-choice keeper for Arsenal since becoming a member of in 2023. He has featured in 42 aggressive matches for the Gunners this season, notably holding as many as 16 clear sheets.
Raya has impressively stored 11 clear sheets in 29 league matches whereas conceding solely 24 objectives. He has the second-highest clear sheets within the league, solely behind Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels.
However, Raya admitted that it could possibly be an entire completely different ballgame in opposition to Actual Madrid, even deeming their UCL as ‘their competitors’.
“We all know what Actual Madrid are like within the Champions League. We are able to say that it’s their competitors,” mentioned Raya, whose instant focus would be the Nations League video games in opposition to the Netherlands.
The Arsenal goalkeeper, although, is unlikely to start out forward of Unai Simon for La Roja tonight, regardless of his stable type within the Premier League.