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Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- General
- Scottish Sun
‘That's where I hit rock bottom' – David Raya reveals Arsenal career changed overnight following TWO-HOUR meeting
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. 5 David Raya has opened up about the 'rock bottom' of his time at Arsenal Credit: YouTube/FOzcast 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. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL BRAVE NEW WORLD Gary Lineker agrees deal with new broadcaster just a week after MOTD exit "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. 5 Raya conceded three times during a 4-3 win over Luton Town Credit: Alamy 5 Raya made a memorable mistake when trying to claim a ball that led to Luton's second goal Credit: EPA Join SUN CLUB for the Arsenal Files every Friday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from The Emirates "[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." 5
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- General
- The Irish Sun
‘That's where I hit rock bottom' – David Raya reveals Arsenal career changed overnight following TWO-HOUR meeting
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. 5 David Raya has opened up about the 'rock bottom' of his time at Arsenal Credit: YouTube/FOzcast But the Spaniard revealed that it hasn't always been easy, explaining that Even though He told "From there, the only way was up with changing my habits and trying to change my mindset. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL "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. Most read in Football 5 Raya conceded three times during a 4-3 win over Luton Town Credit: Alamy 5 Raya made a memorable mistake when trying to claim a ball that led to Luton's second goal Credit: EPA Join SUN CLUB for the Arsenal Files every Friday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from The Emirates "[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 But now he has cemented himself as the number one for 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." 5 5 Raya has won consecutive Premier League Golden Gloves Credit: Getty
The Sun
2 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
‘That's where I hit rock bottom' – David Raya reveals Arsenal career changed overnight following TWO-HOUR meeting
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. 4 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. 4 4 "[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. David Raya's fiancee Tatiana Trouboul relaxes and dances along to music on holiday with Arsenal star 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." 4
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
David Raya held two-hour long Arsenal meeting – 'There's been a big change'
Arsenal's David Raya has opened up on a crunch meeting which made a big difference for the Gunners goalkeeper, with the Spaniard having since established himself as Mikel Arteta's true No. 1 David Raya has lifted the lid on how he turned his Arsenal career around following a lengthy meeting at the club's training ground. The Spanish goalkeeper has won the Premier League's Golden Glove award for the last two seasons thanks to his impressive haul of clean sheets. However, Raya suffered a difficult start to life with the Gunners after first joining on loan from Brentford during the summer of 2023. Mikel Arteta 's decision to play Raya over England international Aaron Ramsdale initially drew raised eyebrows in the early stages of the 2023/24 campaign following a series of high-profile blunders. The 29-year-old admitted he hit "rock-bottom" after making two howlers in Arsenal's 4-3 Premier League victory away at Luton in December 2023. Raya has now told former Manchester United and Wrexham shot-stopper Ben Foster how he met with the club's goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana the same evening to try and address his poor form. Speaking on the Fozcast podcast, he said: "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. 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 just believed in me. I worked with him, worked with the sports psychologist and relied on my missus and my family to try to help me as much as possible. That's when I started feeling better." Raya made his move to the Emirates permanent last summer, while Ramsdale was sold to Southampton. Fast forward to 2025, and Arsenal announced last month that the Spaniard will officially be given the No.1 shirt next term after opting to change from his previous number of 22. The move will see him follow in the footsteps of David Seaman, Jens Lehmann, Manuel Almunia, Wojciech Szczesny, Petr Cech, Bernd Leno and Ramsdale. Reflecting on his tough start at Arsenal, though, Raya said he may have been playing with too much fear due to the controversy surrounding his selection. "I wasn't myself 100 per cent," he said. "Maybe I was backing off a little bit and you cannot do that. You will make more mistakes if you are backing off a little bit. "Maybe it was in the back of my head last year with all the thoughts that were behind the goalie situation. There could've been a lot of factors like the loan thing and maybe not having that [permanent] contract." Arsenal have finished in the runners-up spot in the Premier League for the last three seasons. While the club's standing has improved under Arteta, Raya said the players were disappointed to miss out on the title to Manchester City by five points last year. He said: "I think it hurt more last season because of everything that we'd done, all the points that we got and the run that we went on. "After the [mid-season] Dubai trip, we lost one game, we drew another one and we won the rest. But not fulfilling that title, and being so close and not getting it, that hurt a little bit more." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Pembrokeshire Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Golden Glove hero Zac Jones bids farewell to Haverfordwest County
Departure comes after three and a half years of history-making moments for the Bluebirds HAVERFORDWEST goalkeeper Zac Jones has left the club after three and a half standout seasons, departing as both a fan favourite and one of the finest shot-stoppers ever to wear the Bluebirds jersey. The New Zealand international, 23, made history earlier this month when his penalty heroics and commanding presence helped secure Haverfordwest County's place in Europe. The club's dramatic shootout victory at Cardiff City Stadium against Penybont secured back-to-back UEFA Conference League qualifications—an unprecedented achievement in modern club history. Jones' performances throughout the JD Cymru Premier campaign earned him the league's prestigious Golden Glove award, recognising his consistency and excellence between the posts. His calm presence and sharp reflexes made him a cornerstone of the team during a period that many supporters have called the most exciting era in recent memory. Club officials have confirmed that Jones will now move on to a full-time opportunity, with multiple sources suggesting a transfer to The New Saints (TNS) is imminent—although neither club has officially confirmed the move. Fans and teammates alike have reacted with an outpouring of admiration and thanks. One supporter described Jones as 'the best keeper we've ever had,' while others acknowledged that he would be 'hard to replace' and hailed him as a 'Haverfordwest legend.' Jones, who joined the club in 2021, played a key role not only in league fixtures but also in European competition, where his performances raised eyebrows across the domestic and international football scene. His professionalism and leadership earned him the respect of coaches and fellow players, many of whom lifted him onto their shoulders in a symbolic farewell after the club's final match of the season. Haverfordwest County AFC have yet to name a replacement but thanked Jones for his service and commitment to the club and the local community. Photo caption: Farewell hero: Zac Jones is hoisted aloft by teammates following Haverfordwest's historic European qualification win at Cardiff City Stadium (Pic: JD Cymru Leagues/Facebook).
