David Raya is 183 cm tall, approximately 6 ft 0 in, according to LaLiga’s current player database. The Spanish goalkeeper’s height has attracted unusual attention because other widely used football profiles list slightly different measurements, including 184 cm and 186 cm.
That difference matters when discussing Raya because he is shorter than many elite modern goalkeepers. Yet height has not prevented him from becoming Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper, representing Spain and winning the Premier League Golden Glove three seasons in succession.
Quick Bio: David Raya
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | David Raya Martín |
| Date of birth | 15 September 1995 |
| Age | 30 |
| Birthplace | Barcelona, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Height | 183 cm / approx. 6 ft 0 in |
| Position | Goalkeeper |
| Current club | Arsenal |
| Shirt number | 1 |
| National team | Spain |
| Former clubs | Blackburn Rovers, Southport, Brentford |
| Recent achievement | Three consecutive Premier League Golden Gloves |
LaLiga lists Raya’s date of birth as 15 September 1995, birthplace as Barcelona and position as goalkeeper. Arsenal assigned him the traditional No. 1 shirt, while FIFA included him among Spain’s goalkeepers for the 2026 World Cup.
How Tall Is David Raya?
The most useful answer is 183 cm, or roughly 6 feet tall.
LaLiga currently gives Raya’s height as 183 cm. This is a strong reference point because it is a structured professional football database rather than a celebrity biography page repeating information from elsewhere.
At 183 cm, Raya is almost exactly six feet tall. That is not short in everyday terms, but goalkeeper height is judged differently. At the highest level, it is common for goalkeepers to have significantly greater height and reach, which is why Raya’s stature has followed him throughout his career.
The Premier League has even described him as having a “relatively short stature” in the context of elite goalkeeping.
Why Do Websites Give Different David Raya Heights?
This is where the David Raya height question becomes more interesting than a simple conversion from centimetres to feet.
Reliable and widely viewed sources do not all publish the same figure.
LaLiga lists him at 183 cm. Wikipedia currently gives 1.84 m, while Transfermarkt’s main profile has listed him at 1.86 m.
That means readers may encounter:
- 183 cm — approximately 6 ft 0 in
- 184 cm — still roughly 6 ft
- 186 cm — approximately 6 ft 1 in
It would therefore be misleading to claim that every authoritative football source agrees on one exact measurement.
Small differences like these can occur because player databases may receive measurements at different stages of a career, use older registration data or rely on separate data providers. Measurements can also be rounded differently.
For a current profile, 183 cm is the most sensible figure to use, while acknowledging that other databases list Raya slightly taller.
Is David Raya Short for a Goalkeeper?
David Raya is relatively short by elite goalkeeper standards, but he is not unusually short in general terms.
The distinction is important.
A six-foot person would ordinarily be considered fairly tall. In top-level football, however, goalkeepers are often selected partly for their ability to dominate a large goal area, reach high shots and compete for crosses. Extra height can naturally provide advantages in those situations.
Raya’s stature was questioned well before he became an established Premier League player.
A Premier League feature on his career reported that one coach assessing Raya as a teenager doubted whether he would develop sufficiently because of his height. The same feature noted that Raya eventually reached six feet and described him as one of the shorter goalkeepers at elite level.
His career has since made that early concern particularly notable.
Did Raya’s Height Affect His Early Career?
Height appears to have influenced how some coaches viewed Raya, even though it did not ultimately stop his development.
Raya grew up near Barcelona and developed at Cornellà before moving to England as a teenager. During the process that eventually took him to Blackburn Rovers, his size was reportedly one of the doubts raised about his long-term potential.
He nevertheless progressed through Blackburn’s system, gained senior experience during a loan spell with Southport and later established himself with Rovers.
Brentford signed him in 2019. His years there transformed his profile, particularly after the club reached the Premier League. Raya eventually joined Arsenal on loan in 2023 before completing a permanent transfer in July 2024.
The more useful lesson from his career is not that height is irrelevant for goalkeepers. It clearly matters. Raya instead shows that height is one part of a much larger goalkeeping skill set.
How Does David Raya Compensate for His Height?
Raya’s athleticism, positioning and anticipation help explain why his height has not restricted him at the highest level.
The Premier League highlighted the powerful spring in his legs when discussing how he deals with his comparatively modest stature. The same profile also emphasized his quick thinking and his ability with the ball at his feet.
Distribution is particularly important to Raya’s identity as a goalkeeper.
He is comfortable receiving possession, playing through pressure and helping his team build attacks from the back. Those qualities became central to his development at Brentford and later made him a strong fit for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Command of the penalty area is another important part of the discussion. Being shorter than some rivals does not automatically mean a goalkeeper will struggle with crosses. Timing, starting position, jumping ability, decision-making and confidence all influence whether a goalkeeper can successfully attack high balls.
Raya’s record at Arsenal shows that his overall package has been effective.
His Success Puts the Height Debate in Perspective
The strongest answer to questions about whether Raya is “too short” is his performance record.
He won the Premier League Golden Glove in 2023/24, retained the award in 2024/25 alongside Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels, and then secured it for a third consecutive season in 2025/26.
The 2025/26 award was particularly significant. Raya became only the fourth goalkeeper to win the Premier League Golden Glove in three successive campaigns.
His profile also continued to grow internationally. FIFA named Raya in Spain’s 2026 World Cup squad alongside Unai Simón and Joan García, and he was part of the Spanish squad that won the tournament.
Those achievements do not mean height has no importance. They show why judging a goalkeeper by one physical measurement alone can be misleading.
David Raya Height Compared With Other Goalkeepers
Raya is shorter than many of the towering goalkeepers seen in elite European football, which explains why comparisons regularly appear around his name.
However, simple height comparisons can become unreliable because football databases frequently disagree about player measurements. Raya himself is a perfect example.
A more meaningful comparison should consider how a goalkeeper uses his physical attributes. Reach, explosive jumping, starting position, handling, decision-making and movement can all affect how much space a goalkeeper effectively covers.
Raya’s career is therefore better understood through functional goalkeeping ability rather than height alone.
FAQs
How tall is David Raya in feet?
David Raya is listed at 183 cm by LaLiga, which is approximately 6 ft 0 in. Some other football databases publish slightly different measurements.
Is David Raya 6 feet tall?
Yes. A height of 183 cm converts to approximately six feet, so describing Raya as 6 ft tall is reasonable.
Why is David Raya sometimes listed as 186 cm?
Different databases use different player data. Transfermarkt has listed Raya at 1.86 m, while LaLiga gives 183 cm and Wikipedia lists 1.84 m. The variation is why an exact figure should be presented with appropriate context.
Is David Raya short for a Premier League goalkeeper?
He is relatively short compared with many elite goalkeepers. The Premier League has specifically discussed Raya’s comparatively short stature and how his jumping ability helps compensate for it.
How old is David Raya?
David Raya was born on 15 September 1995, making him 30 years old as of August 2026.
What number does David Raya wear for Arsenal?
Raya wears No. 1 for Arsenal. The club moved him to the traditional goalkeeper number ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Has David Raya won the Premier League Golden Glove?
Yes. Raya won the award in 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, giving him three consecutive Golden Gloves.
David Raya’s height is best presented as 183 cm, or about 6 ft 0 in, while recognizing that some databases list him slightly taller. More importantly, his rise from height-related doubts as a teenager to three consecutive Premier League Golden Gloves shows why his goalkeeping cannot be reduced to a single measurement.
