With the confirmed news that Arsenal has agreed a £25 million fee with Southampton for the services of their second-choice goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale, Espanyol’s shot stopper, Joan Garcia, has been identified as his replacement.
Transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, has reported that Arsenal has placed a €20 million bid for Garcia, but the Catalans want Arsenal to meet the player’s release clause, which is reported to be €30 million. Garcia has featured in all three La Liga matches for Espanyol, and starred in their opening match against Atletico Madrid, which ended in a goalless stalemate. Unfortunately, Garcia conceded a solitary goal in the last two games against Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid, which ended in 1-0 losses.
Garcia began the season with in good spirits, earning a gold medal for Spain in the Summer Olympics and with Arsenal calling for his services, Garcia has made it clear to the Espanyol hierarchy that he wants to leave to North London. The young Spaniard is a relatively unknown player that has been touted by the Spanish media as a wonderkid with a bright future. Coming to a club like Arsenal will give him the opportunity to bide his time, acclimatize to life in the Premier League and get an extended run out in the EFL Cup and FA Cup. He can potentially make his Champions League debut if Arsenal has progressed very far in their Group Phase matches and there are still some available dead rubber matches to be played.
With Ramsdale leaving and Karl Hein out on loan, Arsenal is desperately light at the goalkeeping department, so signing Garcia will be an important move, as he would be able to cover for Raya in the unforeseen events of an injury, suspension or in extreme cases, loss of form.
He’s a bit expensive for a backup option, but it’s not every time you can get a Matt Turner or so for cheaps. He also wouldn’t want to come to Arsenal to rot on the bench, as he’s an established starter at Espanyol, but he will work with the opportunity to feature for the Gunners, and if he continues to impress Mikel Arteta in training, who knows.
With just one day left on the transfer window, Arsenal has very little time to see this over the line.
But when Mikel wants his man, Edu does the needful.
Sayonara.
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