£30m man is Mikel Arteta’s best ever Arsenal signing and it’s not even close

Arsenal have backed Mikel Arteta to the hilt since he arrived but of all the expensive signings made, it is one relatively modest deal that stands out.

The Gunners have brought in nigh on 40 players since Arteta arrived, with huge money signings like Declan Rice, Bruno Guimaraes and Kai Havertz pushing the spend to just shy of the £1bn mark.

However, while the likes of Rice and Havertz have been top signings, there is one man who stands out from the crowd in terms of value for money.

And emphasising just how good he is again this weekend, it’s time we talk about David Raya.

David Raya is Mikel Arteta’s greatest Arsenal signing

When Arsenal signed David Raya back in 2023, there was plenty of chatter at the time of him coming in and battling Aaron Ramsdale for the number one jersey.

Looking back now, it almost seems ridiculous we had those chats.

Ramsdale has drifted into relative obscurity and can’t even get a game at Southampton. Raya, meanwhile, continues to show his brilliance at Arsenal.

Yesterday’s penalty save was just one example of Raya stepping up to the plate when needed. Having won three golden gloves in a row in the Premier League, the Spaniard has a brilliant back four helping him but rest assured, he contributes massively when needed.

The stats back up just how good of a stopper he is too. Raya became the fastest goalkeeper to reach 60 wins in the league, needing just 96 games to hit the milestone.

Furthermore, Raya’s brilliance means Arsenal have conceded just over 0.7 goals a game on average since his arrival.

In fact, the Gunners have lost just 14 games when Raya plays out of 110, coming out on top in 71 of those.

All this, and we haven’t even mentioned how important and good Raya is with his feet, effectively giving Arsenal a man advantage at times with the ball.

Put simply, for just £30m, it feels like Arsenal landed the steal of the century.