Back in February, Erling Haaland was quoted by Fabrizio Romano saying, "Donnarumma's last save... In my opinion, it was incredible. The save shows why he's the BEST GOALKEEPER IN THE WORLD.” This was in reference to a save Gianluigi Donnarumma made in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League.
Kai Havertz has recently contradicted Haaland's claim, saying that Arsenal, in fact, has the best goalkeeper in the world. Havertz said of David Raya, following his performance in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Sporting CP in the Champions League, "I think he is still underestimated in the world of football, but for me, the last two seasons, [he is] the best keeper in the world."
The debate is relevant because Manchester City and Arsenal are the two teams battling it out at the top of the Premier League table. The rivalry has become a fierce one in recent years as City pipped the Gunners to the title in two of the last three campaigns.
The title race is still not over as City have a game in hand and still have to play Arsenal on April 19. Any slip-ups from the Gunners would be very welcome to Pep Guardiola's side.
The rivalry between the two sides is not just in the stands, but on the pitch too. From Erling Haaland telling Arteta to stay humble to Myles Lewis-Skelly mimicking Haaland's celebrations, there is no doubt that the players care, too.
Who is better, Gianluigi Donnarumma or David Raya?
Of course, players of the top teams are always going to back their teammates as being the best in the world. However, for City fans, Donnarumma will of course be better.
Donnarumma is only 27 and already has 81 caps for Italy, Raya is 30 but only has 12 caps for Spain. Both have won the European Championship, but Donnarumma was the starting goalkeeper for Italy when they won the 2020 edition. Raya was the backup to Unai Simón when Spain won the trophy in 2024.
The Italian goalkeeper has also spent his entire career at top clubs: AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and now City. Raya started at Blackburn Rovers, went on loan to Southport, then played for Brentford before Arsenal.
Donnarumma won four Ligue 1 titles with PSG, whereas the best achievements Raya has so far had in domestic leagues are promotion via the Championship playoffs with Brentford and promotion after finishing second with Blackburn Rovers in League One.
City's goalkeeper also won the Champions League with PSG and the Coupe de France twice. He also helped them make it to the Club World Cup final before they suffered a surprise defeat to Chelsea. So far, Raya only has an EFL Cup runners-up medal with Arsenal.