'What have we signed here?' - The real story of David Raya's rise to Arsenal standout
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya hit the headlines after his fantastic double-save against Atalanta but his spell at Southport followed shortly after
by Stephen Killen · football.londonDavid Raya’s outstanding double save against Atalanta, in the northeast of Milan, in club football’s most prestigious tournament was a far cry from a dismal debut in a 3-0 away defeat at Macclesfield for Southport.
Raya, a fresh-faced 18-year-old, was thrust into the starting line-up for the Sandgrounders as they weathered goalkeeping problems. Miracles do happen but non-league football can be unforgiving and the Spaniard learned the hard way against the Silkmen.
"On the day, I’ll be honest, everyone kind of thought, ‘what have we signed here?’ because he didn’t look great at all," says former Southport left-back David Fitzpatrick.
Illness had impacted the goalkeeping area, leaving manager Martin Foyle bereft of shot-stoppers. The enhancement area for football is fruitful in the north west and it isn’t unusual for Premier League, Championship, League One and so on, clubs to loan their players to lower league clubs to gain experience.
In this instance Raya was no different as Southport desperately clambered for an emergency ‘keeper with Foyle, assisted by goalkeeper coach Craig Dootson, spearheading the search.
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"He came in, literally just came in the changing room for the game,” the defender added.
"No one knew anything about him, he was quite young at the time, he was chucked in at the deep end. We hadn’t worked with him properly so it was like, ‘here’s your gloves, show us what you can do.’
"We got beat and we were terrible, to be honest, it was like he’d been chucked into the lion’s den and it was a struggle for him."
But it’s easy to not be privy to the the situation surrounding Southport during that time, Foyle was brought in following a hectic period of managers coming and going, players followed too both in and out of the Haig Avenue exit door.
Part-time football, bring your own towel and your packed lunch for away trips, the majority of Raya’s new teammates had worked five days, possibly up until the morning of the trip to Cheshire.
But the criticism didn’t stop there.
"The chairman at the time (Charlie Clapham)... we lost and one of the goals might have been his fault and the chairman said, ‘I’ve been in this game 20 years, being a chairman and he’s the worst goalkeeper I’ve ever seen," says Foyle.
Southport's lasting impact on David Raya
When you turn right and drive down Haig Avenue, trees tower over part of the road blocking any light that can pass through them, but within seconds the main stand quickly takes prominence.
With two main features of the stadium, the main and the Jack Carr Stand, behind the goal to the right of the centre-circle, Port are one of the modern clubs on Liverpool’s non-league scene.
And in another life, they could very well be in the Football League should they have not lost out on a vote in 1978 to Wigan Athletic - ending their 56-year association.
In the last ten years, the club have been starved of success. Raya’s is a memory of the gem that Southport signed who would later become a cult hero.
The move from Brentford to Arsenal was met with delight around Haig Avenue. The saying goes, ‘don’t fall in love with a loan player’, but just 20 miles outside of Liverpool, there is an affinity with the player who joined from Blackburn Rovers on a short-term deal.
Awe is the emotion that engulfs those hardened supporters who got to see Raya pull on the green Southport goalkeeper strip. In an interview with The Guardian, the Spaniard spoke glowingly of his time on the Merseyside coast.
"Those three months at Southport were among the best because they taught me so much,” he said.
His praise resonated so much that prospective comments were made on the local fan forums over the possibility of Raya returning to Southport or even as far as a statue erected outside of the ground.
Now languishing in the National League North, five promotions from the Premier League, Southport now can only dream of playing football one tier below the Football League again.
The club has fallen on hard times. In the early 2000s and 2010s, Southport tasted success - winning the Conference North, as it was formerly known, in 2004-05 and again in 2009-10, which saw them mix it just below the Football League.
However, they were often fighting in the lower reaches and subsequently suffered relegation. Not since 2017 have the Yellows played in the National League and ever since, they have rarely been close.
'Once he found his feet, he was sensational'
"I just looked and laughed," Foyle says, recounting the fabled words of the former Southport chairman after Raya’s debut. "I said, ‘wow, this boy is going to be a top goalkeeper, he’s going to be a million-pound player and you’re going to eat your words.
"That summed up the story and how he proved to be one of the top goalkeepers in the world."
Needless to say, Raya’s 20-match stint didn’t catapult him to becoming Gunners number one, nor did it help him play his way into Luis de la Fuerte’s plans for their European Championships success in Germany, this summer.
There was plenty of blood, sweat and tears that took him to become the first name on Mikel Arteta’s teamsheet.
But the anecdote of his debut at Moss Rose 10 years ago shows the journey and how Raya has gone from facing the likes of Chris Holroyd (Macclesfield striker), Ben Tomlinson (on target for Woking in a 5-2 win for the Cardinals) and former Aldershot striker Ben Williams to Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes.
While there was a tough period of adjustment, Raya’s resilience saw him come out strong at the other end. Foyle adds: "He certainly went back to Blackburn a better goalkeeper, it was giving him his first opportunity and that’s quite brave to go and play football.
"You could say it was the first step of a long ladder and he’s certainly got there - it’s fantastic."
Fitzpatrick was ever-present with Raya, the left-back, who worked in Human Resources through the day and marauded the touchline on a Tuesday night or Saturday afternoon, shared a separate dressing room with the now-Arsenal goalkeeper.
Even at the tender age of 19, there was a humbleness and kindness about the goalkeeper, heralding from Catalonia. Due to the struggles that Southport were enduring at the time, it didn’t help Raya’s bedding in period.
"The first few games wasn’t great but it wasn’t helped that he was in a struggling side so I did feel for him but after about four or five games, he’d come out of nowhere," Fitzpatrick continued. "He grew in stature, he just had an aura about him where he led by his action.
"Once he started getting that bravery, finding his feet, there was no going back - he was sensational."
Writing his name in Southport folklore
Raya’s loan spell on Merseyside was eventful with managerial changes and wholesale movement within the squad. Foyle was subsequently replaced by Gary Brabin, who soon led Southport on an unbeaten run and a historic FA Cup campaign.
The illustrious competition within English football soon saw the Spaniard write his name in Southport folklore.
Their third-round encounter away at Derby County saw one of the tournament’s David vs Goliath situations and Port were within minutes of securing a replay, only for Chris Martin to break the hearts of the visitors and the travelling fans in stoppage time.
On course to their day out at Pride Park in January, Port overcame Dagenham & Redbridge after a replay and Eastleigh before the Rams were pulled out of the hat against the National League club.
"It was a great showcase for him, I was gutted they scored a penalty right at the end, he deserved a clean sheet," Brabin says. "Playing against Steve McClaren’s Derby who were top of the Championship at the time, David was so assured. It was almost like he was made for that stage, he was unfazed by it.
The 19-year-old, on the biggest stage for Southport since 1999, took them to within touching distance of forcing Derby to travel to Haig Avenue, keeping higher opposition at bay with crucial saves as McClaren’s side look to make their superiority count - peppering the visitors goal.
Was the third-round tie a performance where he came of age? In Brabin’s eyes, no, the occasion merely magnified his capabilities. But that level of performance was something that became pivotal in their success.
The 53-year-old added: "It was one that more highlighted because he’d been like that in all the games that we played - when you go to Nuneaton, it’s not as glorified.
"He certainly showed qualities week in, week out."
Craig Bryson hit the post while Paul Coutts and Ryan Shotton both went close. For Fitzpatrick, who continued at left-back on the day, there was a level of sympathy for the shot-stopper.
"It was a good performance from the rest of the lads but without him, it would’ve been three, four, five-nil without a doubt," the left-back continues. "That day, I remember the Derby fans were showing appreciation to him after 40 minutes because they were witnessing something special.
"The volume of work he had on the day was frightening. It was all about him on the day and Match of the Day did a feature on him. I felt so sorry for him."
While he was heroic on the cup run, Raya was instrumental in the domestic turnaround that catapulted Southport clear of the drop zone. The Arsenal goalkeeper has previously stated the impact that his loan spell had, but playing under Brabin has left a lasting impression on the tactician.
Brabin would not stay in the dugout at Haig Avenue much longer, joining Everton’s under-21s set-up on a permanent basis. But there was a lasting influence on Brabin after working with the Spaniard - so much so, the Liverpudlian went to the Toffees to sign the praises of Raya in a ploy to land the Spaniard - but to no avail.
Brabin insists Raya was integral to his Southport side and from the moment they began working together, the Barcelona-born shot-stopper was destined for greatness.
"I get a lot of satisfaction because I enjoyed working with David, I felt that was the start of him showing how good of a ‘keeper that he is," he said. "I’m really proud of him, moving to Arsenal, I was delighted for him.
"He was top drawer, at the time I was down as saying that he was (capable of becoming) a Premier League goalkeeper and he’d play for his country. I’m not surprised - I was confident it would happen and I’m made up to see it."
With Raya and Southport facing different journeys, the common ground is the mutual affirmation of what was achieved in just 20 games.
Brabin concludes: "He helped us get out of the bottom four, (to the) third round of the FA Cup and (put) the club was in a better position after he left.
"It’s great for everyone associated with Southport now seeing David representing his country and playing in the Premier League, representing one of the biggest clubs."
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