Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has issued a warning over the challenges of playing in the second tier as Wrexham ready themselves for the next level after three successive promotion
David Raya has issued a cautionary note that former Arsenal goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo would be wise to take into account ahead of Wrexham’s Championship campaign next season. Okonkwo made a name for himself after progressing through the Gunners’ academy during his youth career.
He made his first senior appearances on loan at Crewe Alexandra in League Two during the 2022/23 season and also had a stint in Austria with Sturm Graz. The gifted keeper joined Wrexham on loan from Arsenal in September 2023 and impressed as Phil Parkinson’s team secured automatic promotion from the fourth tier.
Okonkwo then permanently signed for the North Wales club, owned by Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, last summer. The 23-year-old was instrumental in the team achieving a third consecutive promotion from League One in April, keeping 19 clean sheets during the 2024/25 campaign.
However, current Arsenal No.1 Raya has now warned about the difficulty of playing in the Championship, describing it as tougher for goalkeepers than even the Premier League. The Spanish international is well acquainted with those challenges, having starred in the second tier with Blackburn Rovers and Brentford.
Raya discussed the mental and physical tests which await Okonkwo while appearing on the Fozcast podcast, hosted by former Wrexham and Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster.
“It’s so much different [playing in the Championship] and you get kicked everywhere,” Raya said. “Every throw-in is going into the six-yard box, with eight or nine monsters just going straight into you.
“Obviously in the Premier League there are more quality players but when it gets to physicality, there’s a lot more games [in the Championship] as well. That mental and physical side of playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday for the whole season is so, so tough and it’s one of the hardest leagues in the world.”
Foster, who won the National League title with Wrexham, backed Raya’s view that the physical demands of the Championship are unparalleled.
He said: “I totally agree. I think, as a goalkeeper, playing in the Championship is harder than playing in the Premier League. You need to have more about you. You’ve got to be physically stronger and physicality comes into it a lot more in the Championship.
“If you go further down the leagues into the National League, League Two, even League One, I think there’s Premier League goalkeepers right now that would not be able to play in those leagues. Even in the Championship, I think you’ve got to be more rounded to survive.”
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While he’s now well-settled after propelling his team to two promotions, Okonwko confessed that his initial days at Wrexham were a bit of a mystery.
During an appearance on the Amanpour and Company TV series on PBS, he said: “When my agents told me about the opportunity, I did have to search ‘where is Wrexham’ and that’s me being honest. I knew they were in the EFL and I knew a bit about the club, but I didn’t know how well they were doing.
“The owners are so well known and when they’re calling you, it still feels surreal. It’s all been an interesting, and slightly weird, journey. I always knew that Wrexham was the right move for me [last summer]. The fans wanted me back, the players wanted me back and they couldn’t tell me any more.”
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