According to a report in Cadena COPE, Premier League giants Arsenal have made an offer to Real Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin and this transfer decision has come as a shock to many.
Andriy Lunin has done really well this season in the absence of Thibaut Courtois featuring in 31 games across all competitions. However, he was majorly unlucky to miss the Champions League final after contracting the flu just a few days before the trip to London.
The Ukrainian international has massively upped his stocks thanks to his consistent performances and any major team will be happy to have in on board but it’s a bit weird that Mikel Arteta is interested in the 25-year-old.
Do Arsenal need to sign Andriy Lunin?
David Raya has been on loan from Brentford this season and Arsenal are expected to trigger his buy clause because he has been a successful upgrade to Aaron Ramsdale.
However, this interest in Andriy Lunin has now put question marks on Raya’s long-term future. Raya had a near-perfect season so it doesn’t make sense that Arteta will not sign him permanently but if this latest report is correct then the Gunners manager definitely feels that Lunin can be an even better acquisition.
Raya’s buy clause is valued at €32 million and Arsenal will have to pay a similar fee for Andriy Lunin because his market value right now is €25 million.
Talking about stats, Lunin has kept 10 clean sheets in 21 La Liga matches this season while David Raya has kept 16 clean sheets in 32 EPL games. In terms of goals conceded, both players are also pretty equal as the Madrid man has conceded only 17 goals in 1890 minutes of league football as compared to Raya’s 24 goals which he has conceded in 2880 minutes of Premier League football.
Apart from top-level Champions League experience, Andriy Lunin is very similar to David Raya and while some would debate that the Real Madrid keeper will be an experience, we think this is going to be an additional headache because Raya has properly settled at the Emirates Stadium.
Will Real Madrid agree to sell the keeper?
Andriy Lunin has been a saviour of sorts for Carlo Ancelotti this season but now that Thibaut Courtois is back in action, the Madrid manager will have no issues in offloading the 25-year-old. Courtois is going to reclaim his No. 1 spot without much fuss which means if Lunin sticks around, he will once again have to be a benchwarmer.
His contract with the Los Blancos expires in 2025 so this summer is the perfect time for the club to bring in some cash by offloading him.
If Arsenal are serious about ditching David Raya they won’t mind spending €35-40 million on Andriy Lunin and this is a much better proposition for Madrid rather than letting him slip as a free agent next year.
