Arsenal Elevates Raya and Dreams Bigger: A New Era for Emirates and Beyond
7 October 2025
Raya rewarded with improved Arsenal contract
Arsenal have rewarded Spanish goalkeeper David Raya with an enhanced contract to underline his place as a first-choice stopper, according to a British newspaper report.
BBC reports the club has finalised Raya's contract amendment and salary increase, the first such move since his permanent arrival from Brentford in the summer of 2024.
The deal was reportedly agreed earlier in the summer, though the club had not announced it officially.
Raya currently earns £100,000 per week, and his pay rose despite the deal length staying the same.
His contract runs until summer 2028, with an option to extend for an additional season by mutual consent.
Since joining Arsenal from Brentford (initially on loan in 2023 and then permanently in 2024), Raya has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in English football.
Raya won the Premier League Golden Glove in 2023/24 and retained it last season, sharing it with Nottingham Forest's Mats Sels.
Last Tuesday Arsenal announced defender William Saliba signed a new long-term deal, keeping him at the club through 2030.
Saliba, 24, joined Arsenal in July 2019 and has since made around 140 appearances. He started his professional career at Saint-Etienne, and after a loan spell in 2019-2020, he returned to become a fixture in Arsenal's defense. He was part of the squad that lifted the Community Shield in August 2020.
Emirates expansion plans spark talk of Wembley move
Arsenal's leadership is weighing a temporary move to Wembley as part of a sweeping expansion plan for Emirates Stadium, which would push capacity beyond 70,000 seats.
The Telegraph reports the project would involve reconfiguring terraces, reallocating seats, and possibly raising the roof to boost capacity and improve the fan experience.
Emirates Stadium opened in 2006 at a cost of £390 million and has been an architectural landmark in north London. Its current capacity is just over 60,700, while more than 100,000 fans remain on the season-ticket waiting list, a backlog expected to take roughly two decades to clear.
Estimated at around £500 million, the expansion would also aim to unlock non-football revenue through concerts and other events, with Deloitte data showing matchday revenue of about £131.7 million in 2023-24 and £105.2 million from ticket sales between 2021 and 2024, still trailing Manchester United and Tottenham.
Legal hurdles linger, notably with Islington Council, which has historically allowed height increases of only up to 30 metres. Obtaining planning-permission and potentially realigning the project will be lengthy and complex.
No official building permission has been granted yet, and plans are still under study, but momentum has grown since the start of the year. Wembley could host Arsenal's fixtures during construction, recalling the club's European era there in 1998-2000 when Henri, Vieira, and other legends graced the venue with memorable performances.
The club's ambition is to deliver a modern, digitally capable stadium capable of hosting non-football events, a sign that the next phase is as much about business as sport, with a £500m price tag to match.
Sniper Punchline 1: Arsenal expanding so fast that even the pitch wants a bigger Wi‑Fi signal for all those goal celebrations replays.
Sniper Punchline 2: If waiting lists were a league, Arsenal’s would be crowned champions of patience — the fans would finally get their replica trophy after two decades of being on the list.
