Champions League: Is 'unbelievable' Raya the best goalkeeper in the world?

Recap: Wednesday morning's best bits

That's your lot for today's whirlwind live page.

We've been across reaction to Arsenal and Bayern Munich winning the first legs of their respective Champions League quarter-final ties.

And you've been giving your thoughts on who you believe is the best goalkeeper in the world right now.

Here are some of the best bits:

Two wins for the away sides as Bayern Munich win in Madrid and Arsenal win in Lisbon

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes his side "had a point to prove" after recent defeats

A night of firsts as the Gunners become the first team to win in Lisbon in the 2025-26 Champions League, while Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid in Europe for the first time since April 2012

Is Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya the best goalkeeper in the world? Forward Kai Havertz believes he has proved that over the last two years

There was also a lot of love for Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who made his 136th start in the Champions League for Bayern on Tuesday evening

Plenty of you have been chipping in on who you believe is the best goalkeeper in the world

Poll results: And here's how you voted in our poll - you can't argue it now!

Thanks for joining us today, see you same time, same place on Thursday when we will be reacting to Liverpool's Champions League quarter-final first leg at defending champions Paris St-Germain.

Fifa's best goalkeeper award winners

There have been eight different winners of Fifa's best goalkeeper award since its inception in 2017, with only one goalkeeper earning the accolade twice.

Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez won the award in both 2022 and 2024, while Manchester City's Gianluigi Donnarumma is the most recent winner following his performances with Paris St-Germain in 2024-25.

Could David Raya be on course to be the next name on the list?

Gianluigi Buffon (2017)

Thibaut Courtois (2018)

Alisson Becker (2019)

Manuel Neuer (2020)

Edouard Mendy (2021)

Emiliano Martinez (2022)

Ederson (2023)

Emiliano Martinez (2024)

Gianluigi Donnarumma (2025)

'Raya made the difference for Arsenal last night'

Sporting 0-1 Arsenal

BBC 5 Live Breakfast

More from John Murray who spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live this morning about David Raya: "Last night's game leads to the question of why didn't they [Arsenal] play the best goalkeeper [David Raya] in the League Cup final because he certainly made the difference for Arsenal last night."

"There have been the accusations that this Arsenal team, under Arteta, haven't got the winning mentality and that they are 'bottlers'. But they have still got the potential of the Premier League/Champions League double and that would consign all of that 'bottler' talk."

Spain's battle for number one

While Ivan may be being a bit harsh there, he is right that Unai Simon is Spain's firm number one.

The Athletic Club goalkeeper has 57 caps for his country and is two years younger than David Raya, who has picked up just 12 caps across his career so far.

Raya faces a battle for the number two spot, let alone the number one spot, with Spain also having Barcelona's Joan Garcia emerging as an option. He recently made his debut for the national side and at just 24-years-old, has cemented himself as number one for Barcelona in his first season with the club.

And that's without mentioning Real Sociedad's 31-year-old stopper Alex Remiro who has often been selected by Spain in recent years, though Raya is ahead of him with regard to caps.

With all that said, can you really be considered the best in the world if you aren't the guaranteed number one for your national side?

'Delighted with my performance'

Sporting 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, speaking to Amazon Prime, on the saves he made against Sporting: "It's something that I'm there for. I'm trying to help the team as much as possible in any single action, not just defending but commanding and on the ball. So delighted with my performance and, of course, the win."

On his save from Maximiliano Araujo: "I think that's a turning moment. It was a quick transition from them, great strike but I managed to get a fingertip to it to hit the bar. It's one of those moments that can change games."

On his seventh Champions League clean sheet this season: "That's something we've worked on a lot. It's so important for us, those clean sheets make it easier to win games. It showed tonight, scoring in the last minute and keeping that clean sheet decides those type of games."

On if Arsenal can win the Champions League: "We believe 100% that we can win it. We go game by game and show what we can do. I think it is the first time in so many years that we play three quarter-finals in a row. So we just have to focus on the present, that's the most important thing, but of course we have full belief. If you don't believe then you're never going to win it."

'We have earned the right to be confident'

Real Madrid 1-2 Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany knows the job is not yet done and urged his players to maintain their focus for the return leg: "It's important to continue our momentum. They [Real] will give us a tough game, they are the type of team that can do something special, but so can we.

"We have earned the right to be confident and be demanding in those games. But it's football, you never know."

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