Arsenal-linked goalkeeper Joan Garcia reportedly makes a U-turn on his future and is set to snub the Gunners to join another European giant for £21.1m.
Arsenal are reportedly about to concede defeat in the race to sign Espanyol number one Joan Garcia, who is now on the verge of joining Barcelona.
The Spanish shot-stopper was in high demand earlier this summer, with all of Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen said to be after his services.
Arsenal were warned that a deal for Garcia would be ‘very hard’ to pull off, though, as he would have had to accept a backup role behind undisputed number one goalkeeper David Raya.
The Gunners nevertheless remained hopeful of winning the race for the 24-year-old, especially after Garcia was alleged to have informed Barcelona of his desire to join a Premier League club.
However, in a fresh and likely final twist in the saga, journalist Lorenzo Lepore claims that Garcia will now make the move to Camp Nou, having given the green light to the Barcelona project.
Garcia ‘to undergo Barcelona medical’ as deal agreed
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The La Liga champions have also agreed to pay their Catalan rivals £21.1m for Garcia, who will undergo his medical and sign his contract with La Blaugrana in the coming days.
Garcia will compete with Marc-Andre ter Stegen and ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny for the number one spot at Barcelona; the latter recently signed a new deal with the Blaugrana until 2026.
The 24-year-old will depart Espanyol having kept 21 clean sheets in 67 matches for the Spanish outfit in all tournaments, playing a key role in their promotion to the top flight in the 2023-24 season.
Garcia helped secure Espanyol’s survival in the most recent campaign, registering eight shut-outs in 38 La Liga matches as the Catalan side placed 15th in the Spanish top-flight table.
Garcia to join Barcelona: Where do Arsenal go from here?
© Imago
While Garcia was not guaranteed the number one spot at Arsenal, he is certainly not assured of minutes at Barcelona either, as Ter Stegen and Szczesny will provide stiff competition.
However, La Blaugrana clearly signalled their intent to get a deal done before the Gunners, who may have a hard time trying to convince other goalkeepers to join in a backup role.
Instead, Mikel Arteta could lean on Karl Hein for a season; the Estonia international will soon return from a loan spell at Real Valladolid, who were relegated from La Liga last term.
The Spaniard’s only alternatives would be to promote one of Tommy Setford, Lucas Nygaard, Jack Porter or Alexei Rojas to the number two spot, an unlikely scenario given the quartet’s inexperience.
Neto served as Raya’s deputy in the 2024-25 season, but the Bournemouth loanee’s stay was not extended beyond the end of the campaign, where he made just one appearance in a 2-1 Champions League win over Girona.
