| Iñaki Caña | |
| Full Name: | Iñaki Caña Pavón[1] |
| Birth Date: | 19 September 1975[2] |
| Birth Place: | Barcelona, Spain |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Currentclub: | Arsenal (goalkeeping coach) |
| Youthyears1: | –1994 |
| Youthclubs1: | Barcelona |
| Years1: | 1994–1996 |
| Clubs1: | Barcelona C |
| Caps1: | 11 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 1996–1997 |
| Clubs2: | Yeclano |
| Caps2: | 6 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 1997–1998 |
| Clubs3: | Terrassa |
| Caps3: | 1 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 1998–1999 |
| Clubs4: | Yeclano |
| Caps4: | 2 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Totalcaps: | 20 |
| Totalgoals: | 0 |
| Manageryears1: | 2015–2017 |
| Managerclubs1: | Sabadell (goalkeeping coach) |
| Manageryears2: | 2017–2018 |
| Managerclubs2: | Nordsjælland (goalkeeping coach) |
| Manageryears3: | 2018–2019 |
| Managerclubs3: | Brentford (goalkeeping coach) |
| Manageryears4: | 2019– |
| Managerclubs4: | Arsenal (goalkeeping coach) |
Iñaki Caña Pavón (pronounced as /es/; born 19 September 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is currently the goalkeeping coach of club Arsenal.
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Caña came through the youth ranks of local side Barcelona.[3] He then played for Barcelona C – a reserve team of the Spanish giants – in Segunda División B, but never made a first-team appearance.[1] [2] After spending one year at Terrassa and two seasons at Yeclano, Caña retired from the game in 1999.[1] [2]
Caña created his own goalkeeper academy in Barcelona in 2013.[3] From July 2015 to January 2017, he worked as goalkeeping coach at Sabadell in the third tier of Spanish football.[1] [3] Afterwards, Caña joined Danish side Nordsjælland,[1] helping them finish third in the 2017–18 Superliga.[3]
In June 2018, Caña moved to England as first-team goalkeeping coach of then-Championship club Brentford.[3] In the 2018–19 season, he shared the same office with set-piece coach Nicolas Jover,[4] who would join Premier League club Arsenal in July 2021.[5] [6]
Caña played a major part in Spanish goalkeeper David Raya's transfer from Blackburn Rovers to Brentford in the summer of 2019.[7] He left his role of first-team goalkeeping coach in December 2019, and was replaced by Andy Quy.[8] Caña and Raya remained friends,[7] and the latter went on to share the 2019–20 Championship Golden Glove award with Millwall goalkeeper Bartosz Białkowski,[9] [10] and helped the Bees get promoted to the Premier League in the following season via the play-offs.[11]
On 20 December 2019, Arsenal appointed former club captain Mikel Arteta – who was 37 years old then and had never managed before – as the new head coach.[12] [13] [14] Four days later, Caña was appointed as goalkeeping coach at Arsenal, with assistant coaches Albert Stuivenberg and Steve Round also joining Arteta's backroom staff.[15] [16] They led the team to a record-extending 14th FA Cup win on 1 August 2020, beating Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley Stadium.[17] [18] Caña was also part of Arteta's coaching team that guided the Gunners to win the 2020 FA Community Shield on penalties against Liverpool on 29 August 2020[19] [20] and win the 2023 FA Community Shield on penalties against Manchester City on 6 August 2023.[21] [22]
Arsenal tried to sign David Raya in 2020 and 2021 at Caña's insistence, but they failed.[7] [11] [23] Caña was a key figure in Raya's successful loan move from Brentford to Arsenal in the summer of 2023.[7] [11] Raya claimed the Premier League Golden Glove award in his debut campaign with the Gunners,[24] [25] then completed his permanent move to Arsenal in July 2024.[26] [27] In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports on 14 August 2024, Raya credited Caña for the role he played in his development at both Brentford and Arsenal.[28] [29]
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Barcelona C | 1995–96[30] | Segunda División B | 11 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Yeclano | 1996–97[31] | Segunda División B | 6 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Terrassa | 1997–98[32] | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Yeclano | 1998–99[33] | Segunda División B | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |||