David Raya has signed a new two-year contract at Brentford and joined Arsenal on loan for the upcoming season.

Raya was entering the final 12 months of his existing deal and had been linked with a £30million move to the Gunners.

However, the move became an initial loan deal with the option of becoming a permanent switch down the line following a late twist.

Brentford director of football Phil Giles says he does not expect the 27-year-old to play for the club again.

"I’m sure the first question that all Brentford fans will ask is why this transfer has been structured as an initial loan with Arsenal having the option to make it permanent in the future,” he told the club website.

“The answer to that is simply that it enables this deal to be done more rapidly between both clubs, with all parties wanting to make this a permanent transfer as soon as practically possible, whenever that might be.

“David’s contract extension is a fall-back position in the event that the transfer is not made permanent. I’m not expecting to see David back at Brentford, although if ever that happened then of course the opportunity to work with such a high-class goalkeeper for up to two more years would in many ways be an unexpected bonus for us.

“David has been a magnificent goalkeeper for us. He thoroughly deserves his move to a Champions League club and the next step in his career.

“In our view he is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and will show himself to be one of the best in the world in the next few seasons.

“On top of that, he is a fantastic human being, and his conduct around the training ground these last few weeks has been, given the uncertainty around his future, absolutely exemplary. We wish him nothing but good luck.”

It is a blow for Rovers’ hopes of landing a windfall for Raya this summer. The club is understood to have a sell-on clause which entitles them to 12.5 per cent of the overall profit.

However, the goalkeeper’s new deal means he can no longer leave on a free transfer next year, which would have left Rovers empty-handed.

Raya racked up more than 100 appearances during his time at Ewood Park, making his senior debut in a 3-0 win at Leeds in April 2015.

He left East Lancashire to join Brentford in the summer of 2019 for an initial £3million fee and has since caught they eye in the Premier League.

The Spaniard played 40 times in total last term as the Bees finished ninth in the top flight under Thomas Frank, beating the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea along the way.

Tottenham and Bayern Munich had also been linked with a move for the shot stopper earlier in the summer.