Arsenal have spent almost £1billion on latest players under Mikel Arteta however the Gunners boss believes a £27m signing took his team to a ‘different level’.
Arsenal’s productive transfer window last summer took the club’s spending under Arteta’s tenure to over £900m.
Only three Premier League clubs – Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City – have spent greater than Arsenal because the start of the 2020-21 season.
But despite the staggering spending, Arteta believes the relatively low cost signing of David Raya helped transform his Gunners team.
Raya’s loan move to the Emirates Stadium got here as a surprise given Arsenal already had England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale on the club.
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But Raya soon displaced Ramsdale as Arteta’s No. 1, winning the Golden Glove award in his debut season on the club.
Strong performances throughout the 2023-24 campaign earned Raya a everlasting £27m move to Arsenal and his impressive performances have continued since then.
Raya, now considered among the best goalkeepers on this planet, has conceded just eight games in 20 games this season.
The 30-year-old can be keen to take care of that remarkable defensive record on Wednesday when Arsenal face his former club Brentford.
‘A tremendous goalkeeper,’ Arteta said of Raya ahead of the Premier League clash. ‘It’s an important story as well and the way it happened [the transfer].
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‘We tried to sign David much earlier, it was as soon as I arrived almost, and he had to attend one other two years.
‘The beginning that he had and the journey that we had together has been phenomenal for us and I’m very joyful to have him.’
Asked whether Raya is the most effective signing he’s made as Arsenal manager, Arteta added: ‘It’s a really difficult query to reply.
‘But he’s actually one which is taking us to a distinct level. He’s actually a player that has brought something to our way of playing.’
Raya will not be the one member of Arsenal’s squad that got here from Brentford, with Christian Norgaard making the identical switch last summer.
Norgaard has only made two league appearances for the Gunners but Arteta insists he’s ‘very joyful’ to have the Denmark international.
Asked what convinced him to sign Norgaard, Arteta said: ‘What I saw on the pitch after which every little thing that I heard about him as a pacesetter, and the role that he can fulfil and the role that he was going to have here.
‘The moment I picked up the phone and spoke to him, he was super excited to hitch us. He brings something that we don’t have within the squad and I’m very joyful to have him.’
Arsenal’s next opponents Brentford have won six of their last nine games to climb into the top-half of the Premier League but pull comfortably clear of the relegation zone.
Brentford took points off Arsenal on this fixture last season back in April, with Yoane Wissa cancelling out Thomas Partey’s second-half opener.
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