Just hours before one of the most important games of his career, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya made the interesting admission that, before to moving to North London, he was on the point of joining German powerhouse Bayern Munich.
The 30-year-old Spain international said in an interview with Sky Sports on Saturday, March 21, 2026, that his professional path may have taken a “dramatically different path” if the agreement with the Bundesliga winners had been finalized. “Luckily, that did not happen, so Arsenal made the bid,” Raya said with a sense of relief. “I was very close to going to another club before joining Arsenal.”
The club was FC Bayern.”As Raya gets ready to start in goal for the Gunners against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, March 22 at Wembley Stadium, the timing of this revelation is especially poignant.
The Spaniard has established himself as Mikel Arteta’s unquestioned first choice since moving permanently from Brentford in 2024 for almost £27 million. In the current 2025–2026 season, he has kept an incredible 21 clean sheets in 40 games.
Despite the appeal of the Bavarian giants, Raya clarified that the “philosophy” and the “growing project” at Arsenal were the main reasons he believed the Emirates was the finest location for the next phase of his career.
