"I speak for myself and my team-mates, there is no fear of injuries"

David Raya, Arsenal's Spanish goalkeeper, said that Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal, internationals with the senior team at 17 and 16 respectively, are "touched by a wand" and said he was "proud" of their presence under Luis de la Fuente.

"It's a pleasure to have such young players with us. For young people it's a source of pride to see them in the senior team. My career is very atypical, everyone is different and they are touched by a wand and they show it every game. I'm happy that they are with us and that they contribute," he said at a press conference about the two Barcelona players.

"The coach is the one who has to choose, people can give their opinion and you can't please everyone, but it's the coach who makes the list and all the players who come here want to help the national team achieve things. Everyone who is in the squad is having a good season and is in good form," he added.

On a personal level, the call-up to the national team comes at a great time for Raya. His saves in Arsenal's last-16 penalty shoot-out against Porto earned him a place in the next round and earned him the plaudits.

"The match in Porto was very important for the team. Since we didn't perform well we were not at all happy with how we handled the game, we scored the goal we needed to extend it and it was decided on penalties. We had been preparing for them for a long time for when the moment came and I was lucky enough to be able to save two. We all scored and I was very happy with the team's performance and personally to help get us through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League," said the Gunners goalkeeper.

"If I had done what the goalkeeping coach told me to do, I would have saved three. It's a lottery but in such a demanding and long season, with so many games, you have to look at the present or things won't go well. When I'm on holiday I'll reflect on the season I've had. I'm in a good personal moment, I want to help my team and the national team," he added.

Raya ruled out that neither he nor any of his team-mates will be measuring their efforts in the friendlies to be played by the Spanish national team for fear of injury at a key moment of the season. "I speak for myself and my teammates, there is no fear of injury. We are preparing for the European Championship in the best way possible, it's the last break and we are at our best with the two games. We are internalising what the coach is asking of us and we are going to give everything, try to play good football and win both games," he said.