Mikel Arteta will be hoping that Arsenal wrap up their summer business sooner rather than later.
The Arsenal boss’ ideal scenario will be to spend as much time as possible with potential fresh faces in pre-season to teach them the ways of his tactical system.
Since Andrea Berta’s arrival, the Gunners have been linked with a whole host of names.
One of them is Viktor Gyokeres, who Arsenal have bid to sign this summer.
Andrea Berta held talks with Nico Williams’ camp as well over a possible move to the Emirates Stadium.
Espanyol need to urgently sell Arsenal target Joan Garcia
In the goalkeeping position, Joan Garcia has caught Arsenal’s eye, who has a €25 million (£21 million) release clause in his contract.
Garcia is open to joining Arsenal and now a fresh update has emerged about his future.
Diario AS have reported that Espanyol are in urgent need to sell the Spaniard for at least €15 million (£12.6 million) before June 30th to avoid ending the financial year with a loss reflecting on their accounts.
Arsenal made an offer to sign Garcia for €20 million (£16.8 million) last summer, which was rejected and the report states that a deal will still be difficult to pull.
One of the reasons why that could be the case is because Barcelona are interested in signing the 24-year-old as well.
Manchester United made an offer to sign Garcia as well while other sides like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and AFC Bournemouth have been longstanding admirers.
How Andrea Berta could have to pay £5m more to sign Joan Garcia
However, the report mentions that two situations could arise where Arsenal might have to pay more than expected to sign Garcia in the summer.
| JOAN GARCIA PER 90 STATS: PAST 365 DAYS | |
| SAVE PERCENTAGE | 76.2% |
| POST-SHOT EXPECTED GOALS AGAINST | +0.26 |
| GOALS AGAINST | 1.34 |
| CROSSES STOPPED | 9.6% |
Firstly, the in-demand goalkeeper’s release clause could increase to €30 million (£25.1 million) if he is called up to the Spanish national team, which is plausible ahead of their UEFA Nations League semi-final clash against Germany.
Secondly, the Espanyol shotstopper’s release clause could rise anyway in the last 15 days of the transfer window.
Considering Andrea Berta has doubts about Garcia, it will be intriguing to discover how the saga around his future unfolds.
