David Raya will reportedly retain his place in Arsenal's starting lineup for tonight's Champions League match against Sevilla.
The 28-year-old joined the Gunners from Brentford during the summer transfer window as a direct rival to Aaron Ramsdale for the gloves in Mikel Arteta's team.
Arteta has continually extolled the importance of having two top-class goalkeepers from which to choose from, and has previously hinted that he could change them on a regular basis, as he might with an outfield player.
However, there has been a great deal of scrutiny on the position, with Ramsdale having started the season as first choice but recently fallen behind Raya in the pecking order.
The Spanish shot-stopper has started each of the last five Premier League matches and both Champions League games so far, although his performances in some of those games have garnered criticism.
Most recently, Raya was caught out of position for Mykhaylo Mudryk's goal in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while he also narrowly avoided giving another goal away while trying to play out from the back in that match.
Ramsdale missed the London derby with Chelsea following the birth of his son, but he is now back in training and has travelled with the Arsenal squad to Spain for Tuesday's match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
However, Raya is expected to keep his place between the sticks despite the recent questions over his form, with Arteta keen to back his compatriot.
The Arsenal boss challenged Raya to step up to the added scrutiny and pressure of being at a big club with competition for his place during his pre-match press conference.
"That's the pressure of playing in big clubs, where you have to win and you have to be at your best, and you have someone next to you who is pushing you every single day," Arteta told reporters.
"That's the debate. That's the beauty of the game as well. The fact that you have other options as well is going to make that talk more frequent."
Raya was also at fault for a goal in Arsenal's last Champions League match, which saw them beaten by Lens in France before the international break.
The Gunners will therefore go into Tuesday's match with one win and one defeat to their name in Group B so far this season, leaving them second behind Lens in the standings.
Sevilla, meanwhile, are under new management following the sacking of Jose Luis Mendilibar, with Diego Alonso now in charge of the reins at the La Liga outfit.
The 2022-23 Europa League winners have drawn both of their games in Group B so far, leaving them one point behind Arsenal ahead of Tuesday's showdown. body check tags ::
