Arsenal star David Raya is training banned XL Bully as bodyguard after string of violent break-ins targeting footballers
PREMIER League goalie David Raya has a banned XL Bully dog to guard him, The Sun can reveal.
The Arsenal ace, 28, has vowed to keep pet Goku following a string of terrifying raids on the homes of football stars.
The breed was outlawed after several attacks, but Raya has an exemption certificate.
An expert said last night: “He’s a responsible owner.”
Raya and model girlfriend Tatiana Trouboul are said to adore the mutt, even though new laws are in place outlawing XL Bullys after a string of attacks.
Goku lives in a secure cage at the couple’s multimillion-pound home in North London.
Spaniard Raya has shared snaps of him cuddled up with the glaring beast on the sofa.
Tatiana, 27, has also been seen taking him for walks.
Raya, who is currently on loan to the Gunners from Brentford, wants the pooch to guard their property after fellow stars suffered a series of violent break-ins.
He has hired experts from Elite Protection Dogs to train Goku.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “David Raya has one XL Bully. He is called Goku, he is a one-year-old. David’s had him since a puppy.
“Everyone with XL Bullys is worried. But David is a responsible owner, he wants to be responsible with him.
“We are training Goku on a long-term contract.”
Elite Protection Dogs has 35 years’ experience training canines, charging up to £20,000.
In 2022, Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez got a Belgian Malinois from the firm in the same month he landed a prized World Cup winner’s medal with Argentina.
New laws have come in over the past two months after a rise in maulings from XL Bullys, including those previously regarded as “soft and loving”.
On December 31 it became illegal for an XL Bully to be out in public without a lead and muzzle.
It is also an offence to sell, breed, give away or abandon the dogs.
And this month it became illegal to own an XL Bully in the UK without an exemption certificate, which Raya possesses.
The dogs must be microchipped, neutered and kept in a secure place. Owners must also have third-party liability insurance.
Meanwhile, dog shelters have seen a huge increase in XL Bullys being handed in or abandoned.
Fatally attacked
The first reported attack on a person was in Liverpool in 2017, when a toddler was severely injured by four dogs.
Their owner, Andrew McGowan, was subsequently jailed.
In 2021, ten-year-old Jack Lis was killed by an XL Bully in Caerphilly, South Wales, while visiting a friend, after which two people were put behind bars.
A month later Adam Watts was killed by an XL Bully at his dog shelter in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, Scotland.
A further eight people were killed by the dogs in 2022 and 2023, including 54-year-old father-of-one Ian Langley, near Sunderland, in October last year.
This month grandmother Esther Martin, 68, was the latest person to be fatally attacked by the breed – days after the ban came into force.
She was killed by two XL Bullys owned by her son-in-law Ashley Warren, 39, who begged for the breed to be banned.
Warren, of Jaywick, Essex, said: “If my dogs did that to her, when I had never seen anything but love from them, then that breed just has a killer switch.
“I honestly thought the ban was a stupid government plan to wipe out a breed which I had never seen anything but softness and love from. Now I think they need to be wiped out.”
The breed was said to be responsible for 20 per cent of dog attacks in 2023.
The Sun approached Raya and Arsenal for comment.
Prem protection
SEVERAL Prem stars have bought dogs for protection following a string of terrifying break-ins.
Man City ace Jack Grealish posed with a £25,000 Belgian Malinois this month after raiders broke into his home while his family were in.
He got the dog from Chaperone K9, which is popular with footballers.
Grealish’s City and England team-mate Kyle Walker bought a £40,000 Doberman from the firm.
The majority of dogs they provide are German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois, with each put through a rigorous 12-month training programme so the dogs are able to recognise threats including burglaries, attacks and robberies.
Other current and ex-Prem stars to use the firm are Marcus Rashford, Mark Noble, Phil Jones, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jesse Lingard.
Similar firms like Elite Protection have also sold pets to protect stars such as ex-Spurs goalie Hugo Lloris.