David Raya is not taking a permanent move to Arsenal for granted despite every expectation he will net Blackburn Rovers millions by joining this summer.
The Spanish goalkeeper signed on the loan with a £27million option for the Gunners to buy. Raya quickly ousted Aaron Ramsdale as Mikel Arteta's number one and won the Premier League Golden Glove award.
It has been widely reported that Arsenal will take up their option this summer, which will land Rovers a hefty sell-on fee. The club included clauses in the deal that saw him join Brentford, which could net Rovers around £5million.
Raya knows he will be an Arsenal player again next season but, publicly, is not assuming anything. He admits it would be 'a dream' to be at the club again next year.
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"It’s not up to me, the contract,’ Raya told MailOnline.
"It’s up to the club and to Mikel. If my performances have been good enough then hopefully they will offer me a long-term contract.
"I am just focused on the present. I don’t want to think too much about the future. I just want to focus on training and the game. Of course, I would love to be here next season and, if that’s the case, it would be amazing, a dream come true to sign for this club.
"I had to adapt very quickly. I didn’t have a pre-season with the club. It was new team-mates, new standards, new fans.
"The situation with Aaron (Ramsdale) was a big one. He is a great goalie and a great character for the team and for the fans. I knew what was going to happen if I started playing. The noise was only going to happen.
"I had to adapt quickly. The turning point was the break we had in Dubai in January. I had the time to reconnect and take a breather from everything that was happening. There have been lows and a lot of highs. I have had to learn from my mistakes and understand what we can all do better."
Raya's rise through English football has been another success story from the Rovers Academy. He joined the ranks at Ewood Park as a teenager before moving on to the Bees, earning promotion and establishing himself in the top flight.
"Coming as a 16-year-old kid, I left everything behind — family and friends," he recalled.
"To come to Blackburn at such a young age was such an opportunity that I couldn’t let it pass. My head was telling me to do it and, if it didn’t work, I could always go back home. But my head was also telling me: 'You have to make it, you have to make it'.
"I knew I had to give the best of me and here I am right now. One of my dreams was to play in the Premier League. Through working hard and giving my all in every training session and every game, I got the opportunity in the end.
"Obviously, I moved to Brentford, they got promoted. I got in the national team as well. And now I am playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world. But I don’t want to stop here. I want more. I want to win everything with Arsenal and do as much as possible."
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