The goalkeeper made a superb late save to deny EstĂȘvĂŁo Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves, better known simply as EstĂȘvĂŁo, as the champions came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates on Sunday, a result that kept Mikel Arteta's side perfect through three Premier League games and level at the top of the table with Manchester City.
Morgan Rogers had given Chelsea an early lead before Kai Havertz and Martin Ădegaard turned the game around, continuing the momentum Arsenal built with their Community Shield win over City at the start of the season.
"Winning the league after that many years and after those years that you are so close, it gives you that relief and it gives you that extra confidence," Raya said.
"Coming from the three games, especially the Community Shield win against City, the way we played, that gives you extra motivation and extra confidence to play the way we want to play.
"And of course, winning the title last year is a lift to make these fans happy. These people around the club are really happy. So hopefully, we can keep playing this way because we know how good we are.
"We know we can beat anybody in this league. Let's just focus on the moment and be in the present. And I just want more from me."
It was Havertz's third goal of the campaign and his fourth against Chelsea, the club that sold him to Arsenal in 2023, continuing a habit of scoring against his old side whenever the two teams meet. Chelsea had invested heavily over the summer, adding Rogers, JoĂŁo Pedro and Pedro Neto in an effort to close the gap on the champions, and Sunday's derby was billed as an early test of whether that outlay had turned Xabi Alonso's side into genuine title contenders.
Bruno GuimarĂŁes, meanwhile, believes Arsenal are already playing better than they did during last season's title-winning campaign. The Brazilian missed the Chelsea game after picking up a knock in the win at Aston Villa the previous Monday, though he was fit enough to make the bench and should be in contention for Wednesday's Champions League opener away to Napoli.
"I'm very happy to be able to train five or six times with the team. It's great to be able to work with such a strong, impressive team," GuimarĂŁes said. "They're strong physically, strong in defence, strong in attack. It seems that this season they're playing better than last season. I think that's the goal, to improve every year.
"That's the message that Arteta wants to pass on to us. I think that since the first time I talked to him, he's very obsessed with these things, he's always improving.
"We can see that our team is playing very well. It's just the beginning, there's a lot to come but so far, congratulations to everyone."