Luis Enrique warning comes as Arsenal prepare for PSG

Arsenal’s Golden Glove winner praised Mikel Arteta, reflected on Arsenal’s title celebrations and said the squad now have their eyes on the final.

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images For Premier League

David Raya says Luis Enrique will make life “very difficult” for Arsenal in the Champions League final, but the goalkeeper believes the newly crowned Premier League champions are ready to attack the final challenge of an historic season.

Raya goes into Saturday’s final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest after the best campaign of his career. The 30-year-old has won the Golden Glove for the third successive season, helped Arsenal end their 22-year wait for a league title, and now has the chance to finish the club season by lifting the one trophy Arsenal have never won.

The Spain international is not treating the Premier League title as an end point. Arsenal have already secured the domestic prize, but the Champions League final and the World Cup still offer him the chance to finish the season at an even higher level.

Asked about his first feelings on being a Premier League champion, Raya told AS: “Super happy. With the whole journey we have been on, and being able to win the Premier League in the end, it makes me feel very proud of this team, this club, the staff, and above all the fans. It makes us very happy.”

Raya did not join players at Emirates Stadium in the early hours after the title was confirmed, but he said the celebrations inside the group reflected the scale of the achievement.

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“No, no. I didn’t turn up there, but the celebrations went very well,” he said. “It was very important after so many years without winning the Premier League, so to be able to celebrate it with all the staff and this fantastic group of players and people was great. It went very well.”

His own season has been defined by a consistent level of excellence, but Raya framed his third successive Golden Glove as a collective achievement rather than an individual one.

“I’m in a very good spell,” he said. “Not only personally, but the clean sheets we have kept, I think that is a collective thing. Super happy to be able to achieve this record of three consecutive Golden Gloves, which not many goalkeepers have done. So, I’m super happy and convinced by the work we have done collectively.”

That form could also shape the Spain conversation before the World Cup, although Raya said his focus is simply on maintaining his level and making the decision as difficult as possible for Luis de la Fuente.

“I try to play my football here and be able to make things difficult for the coach. That that’s what I’m trying to do. I try to do my best to make it difficult for the manager.”

On Mikel Arteta, Raya was clear that the Arsenal manager has earned this moment after building a title-winning side.

“I think the work that the manager has done is incredible,” Raya said. “He never gives up and that is a message he has always passed on to us.”

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images For Premier League

The Champions League final is now the immediate focus. Arsenal had to complete their league campaign first, but Raya admitted the players already had one eye on Budapest once the Premier League had been won.

“We had to think about Sunday, which was the next game, but it is clear that we have our eyes on the final, now that the Premier League objective is done,” he said. “We have to prepare for every game in the same way, with the same excitement.

“At the end of the day, we play football for that, to enjoy these matches too. Now we go for the final.”

Raya’s link to Enrique adds another layer to the final. The PSG manager handed him his Spain debut, and the Arsenal goalkeeper knows both his quality and his capacity to influence a game.

“I know him well, he was the one who gave me my debut for the national team, and I have a lot of affection for him,” Raya said. “We know he is a great coach and a great person. He always adjusts things. He will make it very difficult for us.”

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That is the challenge facing Arsenal. They have already made history by reclaiming the Premier League, but Raya and Arteta’s squad now have the chance to do something even bigger.

PSG will not make it easy, and Raya knows that better than most, but Arsenal have spent the season proving they can handle pressure, and one more win would complete the greatest campaign in the club’s modern history.

If anyone can stop this PSG side, it’s Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

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