Merino was interviewed as part of the team’s preparations for the Champions League this week.
As Arsenal prepare to take on Shakhtar, Merino was asked about what Raya brings to the team.
He stated: “David is an amazing goalkeeper, an amazing guy. He has had an amazing season last year. He’s started in amazing form this year. That talks a lot about how strong he is mentally and of course how hard he works physically. He’s always pushing himself. I’m lucky enough to play with him in the national team as well.
“You can see him performing really good there. He’s always working hard even when he’s not playing, so that’s just a good example for everyone for what we should do. Just keep working, try to push ourselves even if we’re in a good position. Hopefully we can all learn. I think everybody has the same mentality as him and we can start getting better performances.”
He then added on knowing Martin Odegaard from their time at Real Sociedad a few years ago: “It has been a long journey for him and for me. That finishes now playing together again. We played maybe four, five or six years ago. I saw him as this really talented kid that was just magic in the number 10 position.
“He made my job really easy because he’s the one who moves really good in the pockets, he turns, plays quick and for me, as a number eight back in the day, I used to find him a lot and he used to make my passes better. It’s amazing how he has evolved and developed.
“Now he’s a grown man, the captain, the leader of this club and you can hear the maturity in his voice, how he acts, talks to people and behaves on the pitch. It’s great to be back with him again and hopefully we can keep building that relationship and connection that we have.”