Brentford have rejected a £10m bid from Arsenal for goalkeeper David Raya, as per Telegraph journalist Sam Dean.

The Gunners are on the hunt for goalkeeping reinforcements following the permanent departure of Emi Martinez to Aston Villa, and they are set to sign up Runar Alex Runarsson as back-up to first-choice Bernd Leno.

However, Arteta is keen on signing Raya as well and they have seen their first transfer bid for the Bees shotstopper rejected, as Thomas Frank seemingly aims to keep as many of his prized assets at the club as they look to launch a promotion push this season.

As per the aforementioned report, Brentford will only consider selling their goalkeeper if he is loaned back for the season, something which the Gunners could potentially offer in their second approach.

Raya, 25, played an influential role in the Bees' march to the Championship play-off final though his mistake in the showpiece finale at Wembley ultimately cost the Bees a chance of promotion to the Premier League.

The Spaniard shared the Golden Glove award for the 2019/20 season with Millwall goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski, as he finished the season with 16 clean sheets.

The verdict

I'm not surprised that Thomas Frank and Brentford are standing firm with regards to Raya.

He's an important figure in the Bees' team and Frank will be keen to maintain some form of continuity from last season, having already lost Ollie Watkins and with Said Benrahma's exit inevitable.

The only compromise from a Brentford perspective is if they were able to get him back on a season-long loan, as it would alleviate the need to scramble in the transfer market and try secure a new goalkeeper with the season already underway.