Raya completes Arsenal move after signing Brentford deal

David Raya has completed his move from Brentford to Arsenal.

The Spain international goalkeeper, 27, has joined the Gunners on a season-long loan ahead of an expected £27m permanent move.

His Bees contract was due to expire next year and he rejected offers of a new deal.

However, he has now signed a new two-year contract with Brentford, averting the prospect of the club losing him for no fee – and paving the way for the loan deal to be agreed.

Brentford signed Dutch keeper Mark Flekken in May as a replacement for Raya, who had indicated that he wanted to move on.

“I’m sure the first question that all Brentford fans will ask is why this transfer has been structured as an initial loan with Arsenal having the option to make it permanent in the future,” said Brentford director of football Phil Giles.

“The answer to that is simply that it enables this deal to be done more rapidly between both clubs, with all parties wanting to make this a permanent transfer as soon as practically possible, whenever that might be.

“David’s contract extension is a fall-back position in the event that the transfer is not made permanent. I’m not expecting to see David back at Brentford, although if ever that happened then of course the opportunity to work with such a high-class goalkeeper for up to two more years would in many ways be an unexpected bonus for us.

“David has been a magnificent goalkeeper for us. He thoroughly deserves his move to a Champions League club and the next step in his career. In our view he is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and will show himself to be one of the best in the world in the next few seasons.

“On top of that, he is a fantastic human being, and his conduct around the training ground these last few weeks has been, given the uncertainty around his future, absolutely exemplary. We wish him nothing but good luck.”