DAVID RAYA has opened up on the lowest point of his Arsenal career in an honest interview with former England goalkeeper Ben Foster.
Raya, 29, has been one of the Premier League’s top shot-stoppers since his move to North London, winning consecutive Golden Glove awards in between the sticks at the Emirates Stadium.
But the Spaniard revealed that it hasn’t always been easy, explaining that a poor game against Luton Town last season made him hit “rock bottom”.
Even though Arsenal won the game 4-3, thanks to a late Declan Rice header, Raya was left feeling that his performance was the worst of his career – shipping three goals against the newly promoted outfit.
He told Fozcast: “It was a turning point against Luton. That game was one of the worst games I ever played and that’s where I hit rock bottom.
“From there, the only way was up with changing my habits and trying to change my mindset.
“From that game, I said, ‘Listen, this is not me.’ I think there’s been a massive change from there.”
For Raya, that meant setting up an almost immediate meeting with Gunners goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana to pinpoint what was going wrong and fix it.
He added: “I met with the goalie coach after the game at the training round and we were there for two hours, talking about things that we could change.
“He helped me a lot in that situation and he just believed in me. We had to change things.
“[I was] working with him, working with a sports psychologist and relying on my missus and my family to try to help me as much as possible. That’s when I started feeling better.
Raya was battling with outside noise about his arrival when he first joined the Gunners, with many fans questioning if he was a necessary addition given the presence of Aaron Ramsdale at the time.
But now he has cemented himself as the number one for Mikel Arteta, so much so that Ramsdale’s permanent exit from the Emirates was sealed last summer.
Raya reckons this past campaign has been the best of his career, and he is ensuring that he is keeping himself in the best nick possible to continue his flying form.
The goalkeeper, who formed the base of the Premier League’s most formidable defence this term, revealed: “I’ve changed my routines in the morning.
“Since I came back from pre-season I wanted to be waking up earlier in the morning and doing some stuff at home. Like an ice bath in the morning.”
Read the full article here