At the end of the campaign, the loan move was made permanent by the Basques and, with Iraizoz recovered, Armando beat competition from Iñaki Lafuente and served as backup. His only two appearances in 2008–09 were on 28 February 2009 in a 2–1 home loss to Sevilla FC, as manager Joaquín Caparrós rested the entire starting squad for the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg, coincidentally also against Sevilla, and against Real Betis also at San Mamés in a 1–0 success, for the same reason (the upcoming final against FC Barcelona).