Arsenal star says Gunners want to make their own history | OneFootball

Arsenal goalkeeper on the win that sent a message across Europe and why the Gunners are ready for more

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David Raya says Arsenal’s dismantling of Real Madrid across two legs in the Champions League quarter-finals is more than just a famous result.

For the club’s No.1, it’s a message of intent. It’s proof that this team isn’t chasing shadows of the past, it’s building something of its own.

“It’s a real statement,” said Raya after the 2-1 win at the Bernabeu, which sealed a 5-1 aggregate victory over the 15-time European champions.

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“It’s great the way we beat Madrid twice and, coming to the Bernabeu, the way we played, the way we defended, and pressing high the way we were, very attacking minded.”

Arsenal had not reached a Champions League semi-final in 16 years. That drought ended emphatically, with a performance that silenced a stadium built on comebacks and ghosts of greatness. As Madrid wilted, Arsenal held their shape, took their chances, and passed one of European football’s toughest tests.

“It’s been very long since this club was in the semi-final but we are here to create our own history and hopefully we can dream,” Raya continued. “We are going to try everything in our hands to do it.”

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Madrid’s reputation hung heavy over the tie, but inside the Arsenal dressing room there was no talk of that. Only their own plan.

“We knew it was out there because it’s Real Madrid, it’s part of the history,” Raya said. “But we said ‘we are here to create our own history’ and that’s what we did, the way we came to the Bernabeu and the way we played, the way we defended, the way we created chances.”

The clean-sheet from the first leg, the composure at the Bernabeu, and the refusal to panic after conceding from a sloppy mistake made this one of the most complete European performances in Arsenal’s modern history. “We kept them quiet,” said Raya. “In the second half, they created chances and they took one and we took our chances and we won the game and credit to us. It was a complete match from us.”

The reward is a semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, a side Arsenal have already beaten in the league stage. But Raya was quick to point out that the French champions have changed since then.

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“Yeah, we beat them at home but I think PSG are a different team,” he said. “They look even better now than what they looked back in the group stage and that’s credit to them. They didn’t get easy games either.”

Luis Enrique’s side, now with Ousmane Dembélé fully firing (32 goals, 11 assists in 42 games), pose a more complete challenge than the one Arsenal faced earlier in the competition. Both Liverpool and Aston Villa have learned the danger of underestimating PSG – beating them in a single leg only to fall short over two.

The Bernabeu, however, underlined just how much strength there is in Mikel Arteta’s squad. Even when Bukayo Saka saw his first-half penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois, there was no loss of belief. The winger bounced back in the second half, collecting a through ball from Mikel Merino and calmly lifting it over the goalkeeper.

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“We scored two goals, even though we missed a penalty in the first half, but these things happen,” said Raya. “And then Bukayo scores us the first goal and then that gives us the confidence to win the game.”

Raya praised Saka’s mentality. “Mistakes happen, penalties are missed but credit to Bukayo, he stepped up to take the pen and sometimes you score and sometimes you miss. But the good thing is that, after, he went one-on-one with Courtois and he scored.

“That pen gave a bit of hope to them but we kept cool in those situations and we defended well and they didn’t create many chances.”