David Raya’s face will never be the same after a scary injury to Arsenal’s goalkeeper.
David Raya’s face was forever changed after a terrible injury while playing for Blackburn Rovers. The Arsenal goalkeeper, from Spain, has had an amazing season, winning the Premier League and now has a chance to win the Champions League for the first time as Arsenal faces Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest.
Although Raya didn’t win the Premier League Player of the Season award – which went to Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes – he was definitely one of the top contenders. Arsenal’s success this season has come from a strong defense, with Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, and midfielder Declan Rice all playing important roles.
This season has been a huge moment for Raya, who started his career after making the big decision to leave Spain and move to England at just 16. In 2012, he signed a scholarship with Blackburn Rovers, who had recently dropped out of the Premier League. A brief four-month period playing senior football at Southport helped him gain experience, and by 2017 he became Blackburn’s first-choice goalkeeper under manager Tony Mowbray.
Raya moved to Brentford in 2019, spending four years there and helping them get promoted to the Premier League before joining Arsenal. During his last season at Blackburn, he suffered a scary injury in a 1-1 game against West Bromwich Albion. He collided with West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez, who accidentally hit Raya’s face with his boot.
Mowbray, the Blackburn manager, said the bone at the top of Raya’s nose was pushed almost into his skull, and his teammates found the injury tough to look at. Raya needed oxygen and, since Blackburn had used all their substitutions, midfielder Richard Smallwood had to take over in goal. At the hospital, Raya was diagnosed with a broken nose and needed several stitches for a facial wound.
He missed just two weeks but had to wear a protective nose mask when he returned to play at Ewood Park. After the season ended, Raya chose to have nose reconstruction surgery. He later said he thought his face was completely broken right after the injury. “I felt a big crack in my face and thought I’d need surgery right away,” he told the Lancashire Telegraph.
He added, “It didn’t stop me from breathing or anything. This kind of thing can happen to anyone, like when jumping for a header against a defender, so it won’t change how I play.”