Mikel Arteta has refused to confirm whether or not Arsenal plan to sign goalkeeper David Raya on a permanent basis.
Raya, 28, established himself as the Gunners' first-choice 'keeper earlier this season, dislodging Aaron Ramsdale. The Brentford loanee just saw his run of six successive clean sheets away from home come to an end in Arsenal's dramatic 3-2 win against arch rivals Tottenham last Sunday, although did make his first howler in recent memory to give Spurs a route back into the game.
Arteta insists that the Gunners are "really happy" with Raya, who's already won the Premier League Golden Glove for this season, but he was asked on Friday if they plan to sign him permanently and his response was coy. "Those conversations are for after the season. We will review where we are," the Arsenal manager replied.
"Obviously, we are really happy with David and everything he has brought to the club and the team, there is no question about it. But, those decisions are taken by all of us at the club and we will see."
The Gunners signed Raya last August by paying a £3million loan fee and they boast the option to buy him for £27m, as the 28-year-old only has 12 months left on his Brentford contract. Arteta would like to think that Raya can be a key player for Arsenal going forward - just like Jurrien Timber.
Premier League fans may have forgotten about the versatile Dutch defender, who suffered an ACL injury during only his second appearance eight months ago. Timber is now back in training and ready to return, with Arteta saying ahead of Saturday's clash with Bournemouth: "Everybody is fit and available so now it's the headache to make the right selection."
The Gunners boss added of his £34m signing from Ajax: "You see how commanding he is, his leadership, his quality and the rest they have to lift it up and they start to demand more from each other and they look at each other and say 'I better be good because I want to keep playing', and this is very positive for the squad.
"It's tricky because there are only three games to go and he has missed eight months of football. He's played only 150 minutes of football with the under-21s, it's a question that can only be resolved by throwing him on the pitch and we will see what happens, we have to try to nail that decision."
Timber, 22, would mostly likely slot in at left-back if chosen to face Bournemouth, providing competition for Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu. A spot on the bench is more realistic, though.