A BRIGHT RAYA HOPE
Arsenal goalkeeper on how time spent with fifth tier side Southport helped him become a Premier League star
London, England - Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya’s UEFA Champions League penalty-saving heroics against Porto last week was the latest chapter in an inspirational career that has taken the 28-year-old from his native Spain to north London via Lancashire, Brentford and a pivotal spell in non-league on Merseyside.
The Spaniard was playing youth football for Catalonian side UE Cornella when in 2011, as a 15year-old, he was given the chance to go to Lancashire for a trial with then Premier League club Blackburn Rovers.
Despite his age and not speaking the language, Raya jumped at this opportunity.
“That was a massive change but I didn’t have any doubts about it at all,” he told Arsenal’s official website. “I’d say the moment I realised I could play football for a career was when I signed for Blackburn’s academy.”
Raya signed professional forms with Blackburn when he turned 18 and soon afterwards he was loaned out to non-league club Southport, who were then in National League - the fifth tier of the English football pyramid.
“They were some of the best times of my career in terms of learning and development,” he says. “I was used to life at Blackburn, where they made your breakfast for you, they did your laundry, everything. But when I went to Southport I had to do everything for myself.
“For home matches I’d have my pre-match meal at home, and at Blackburn I wasn’t used to that. It was a big learning curve, and basically I had to grow up and toughen up. That was the intention of the loan, sending players to non-league. You learn a lot, because it’s proper football and you play against men, and wins are so important.
“Your win bonus combines with your wage and you need those wins to pay your bills. You realise how important that is.”
Raya made 24 appearances in all competitions across his three months with Southport, helping the “Sandgrounders” avoid relegation. And such was his impact, Raya’s spell at the club is still remembered fondly by those who were there at the time.
“He was an unbelievable character, confident and bubbly and it was lovely to feed off that and spread it among the squad,” former Southport manager Gary Brabin told Sky Sports. “It was a great team spirit.
“The way David was so confident, we played a lot more football on the ground than other teams at our level and we quickly got out of those bottom four places. He was integral to that because of how good he was.
“We felt safe having him at the back and it wasn’t just keeping the ball out, he was starting our play. He was our starting point and it was successful for us.”
On his return to Ewood Park, Raya became an integral part of the Blackburn side with his performances leading to a move to London and championship rivals Brentford in 2019.
It did not take long for Raya to become a favourite with the Bees faithful and after helping Brentford reach the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2021, another opportunity presented itself when he was given the chance to move across the capital to Arsenal on loan two years later.