Arsenal's David Raya wins Premier League Golden Glove award after clean sheet tally becomes unassailable

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award after his tally of 14 clean sheets became unassailable.

Raya’s 14 clean sheets have come in 29 league appearances for Arsenal this season.

His main rival Jordan Pickford needed to keep a clean sheet for Everton against Luton Town this evening, but was unable to do so during his team’s 1-1 draw.

With two games left for Everton and 12 clean sheets so far, Pickford can now only match Raya, who has three fixtures left to play for Arsenal.

Raya becomes the first Arsenal goalkeeper to win the Golden Glove since Petr Cech in the 2015-16 season, keeping 16 clean sheets as the Gunners finished second in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta may feel vindicated about his goalkeeper’s clean sheet tally this season. The Arsenal manager came in for criticism after replacing Aaron Ramsdale with Raya, who joined the club on a season-long loan from Brentford in August.

Ramsdale had played all 38 of Arsenal’s Premier League matches the season prior, keeping 14 clean sheets.

But Raya became Arteta’s clear first-choice goalkeeper from September onwards, remaining as the number one even after he made two mistakes during Arsenal’s 4-3 victory against Luton Town in December.

He became a hero after saving two penalties during Arsenal’s shootout victory against Porto in the UEFA Champions League, helping his team into the quarter-finals.

TNT Sports expert Martin Keown said Raya had turned doubters into believers with his performance during the shootout.

"There was an anxiety in the stadium when he first came into the Arsenal team," Keown said. "You see now, there’s a belief in him and there’s a unity now."

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media