Mikel Arteta could be forced to abandon his hopes of signing Espanyol’s Joan Garcia if a cheaper alternative can be found.
The Gunners were in talks with Espanyol last summer about a move for one of Europe’s most highly rated goalkeepers.
When it became clear that the then newly promoted club were unwilling to listen to offers below his €25m release clause, Arsenal dropped their interest and instead signed the experienced Neto on loan from Bournemouth.
David Raya has since cemented his status as Mikel Arteta’s first choice, a status cemented by the award of the No.1 squad number earlier this week.
With Neto set to return to his parent club and youngsters Jack Porter and Tommy Setford deemed not ready for a promotion, Arsenal will again be in the market for a goalkeeper in the summer.
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Garcia has enjoyed a reputation enhancing season with Espanyol in La Liga but Arsenal must move quickly if they are to secure his services.
The 24-year-old’s release clause will jump by another €5m if he is called up by Spain for their upcoming Nations League fixtures, while interested parties will be required to pay€30m if they leave any deal until the last fortnight of the window, according to The Athletic.
Why do Arsenal want to sign Joan Garcia?
On the face of it, signing a new goalkeeper would appear to be way down the list of Arsenal’s transfer priorities this summer.
David Raya has, arguably, been Arsenal’s best player this season and has ended any lingering talk over whether Mikel Arteta was right to dispense with Aaron Ramsdale redundant.
The Spain international turns 30 in September and has many more years ahead of him at the top level and should be coming into his prime.
That said, it is hard to ignore the meteoric rise of Garcia who appears destined for greatness and boasts all the attributes required by a modern goalkeeper to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
If Arsenal, who have already put in a significant amount of group, let Garcia slip through their fingers he will undoubtedly join a rival club, either in the Premier League or in Spain.
Arteta has been fortunate that Raya has been a virtual ever-present this season especially as Neto’s only appearance, in a Champions League dead rubber, did little to inspire confidence.
The arrival of a potentially world-class goalkeeper could cause more issues than it solves, but Arteta will know a player of this quality only comes around once in a while.
Arteta is unlikely to settle for anything other than his preferred targets this summer but a measure of compromise may have to be struck, especially after his insistence on signing Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino nearly 12 months ago meant Arsenal were left short of attacking options this term.
If a more suitable market opportunity were to present it self, Berta could insist on Arsenal going down that route and divert funds elsewhere in order to address the more pressing issues he needs to address.
Arsenal’s new sporting director is also said to prefer a move for Viktor Gyokeres over Benjamin Sesko, another player are came close to signing 12 months ago.
While Sesko’s potential is obvious, he is not considered to be anywhere close to the finished article, while Gyokeres, at 27, is in his prime and in the form of his life while also likely to be available at a more affordable price.