NEW Arsenal arrival David Raya could be in for an awkward reception from his Arsenal team-mates when they find out the meaning of his neck tattoo.
The former Brentford stopper has a tattoo on the back of his neck that reads ’13-08-2021′ to commemorate his Premier League debut with the Bees.
GettyDavid Raya was unveiled as an Arsenal player yesterday[/caption]
But the player’s neck tattoo could lead to some awkward questions in the Gunners dressing roomGetty
That particular night saw Brentford beat Arsenal 2-0 in what was one of Mikel Arteta‘s most testing moments as Arsenal manager.
It was a perfect Prem debut for Raya, who kept a clean sheet as goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard put the game beyond any doubt for the Bees.
Arsenal would go on to lose their next two games to Chelsea and Manchester City which left the Gunners rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table without scoring a goal.
The results saw the likes of Gary Neville lay into Arsenal’s “poor recruitment” and “lack of direction” in what was a testing time for the club.
But the Gunners bounced back to narrowly miss out on top four that season before following that up with last season’s title challenge.
Raya is the latest signing in an aggressive transfer strategy from Arsenal this summer.
The keeper is the Gunners’ fourth signing following deals for Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber.
Arteta is keen to create competition for places this season as he looks to go one better than last and win the Premier League.
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And that extends all the way to the goalkeeper position with Raya coming in despite the popularity of Aaron Ramsdale both with fans and in the squad.
Raya has signed for Arsenal on an initial £3million one year loan deal with a £27m option to buy next summer.
It remains to be seen how Arteta will deal with having two Premier League proven keepers to pick from – with some suggesting one will play in the Premier League and one in the Champions League.
Or he could follow in the footsteps of Roberto De Zerbi, who revealed that he will rotate between goalkeepers Jason Steele and Bart Verbruggen on a game by game basis.