Arsenal have reached a personal agreement with the Spanish goalkeeper from Espanyol.

Arsenal had an impressive start in the first round of the 2024/2025 Premier League. The Gunners defeated Wolves 2-0 with a convincing performance. In addition to their achievements on the pitch, Arsenal has been active in the transfer market.

The London club have brought in two notable new signings: goalkeeper Tommy Setford and defender Riccardo Calafiori. Those are not the last deals. According to an update from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are very close to Joan Garcia .

The Gunners have identified Joan Garcia as the ideal replacement for Aaron Ramsdale if the England goalkeeper leaves in the summer of 2024. Joan Garcia impressed for Espanyol.

Joan Garcia is on Arsenal’s radar.

In the 2023/2024 season, Joan Garcia started 14 matches for the Catalan team and kept 8 clean sheets. The Spanish star is currently valued at 25 million euros. So who is Joan Garcia? What will the 23-year-old goalkeeper bring to Arsenal?

Garcia’s career

Joan Garcia began his professional career playing for CF Damm and CE Manresa. 2016 marked a turning point for the Spanish goalkeeper when he joined the Espanyol academy. After three years at the academy, Garcia made his debut for the reserve team at the end of 2019.

Two years later, Garcia made his debut for Espanyol’s first team in the Copa del Rey. The Spanish goalkeeper made his La Liga debut in January 2022. After that, Garcia mainly played as a reserve.

Garcia in Espanyol colours.

In March 2024, Garcia had a convincing performance when he kept a clean sheet against SD Huesca in the Spanish second division. That was an important stepping stone for Garcia to play well afterwards with 7 clean sheets in a total of 13 starts, helping Espanyol finish in 4th place.

Espanyol secured promotion to La Liga after a 2-1 play-off win over Real Oviedo.

Garcia shares his future story

The 23-year-old star has great potential.

Before Arsenal, both Real Madrid and Liverpool were linked with the Spanish goalkeeper . Sharing with the press, Garcia said: “I always feel the love of the fans. I am very happy when everyone cheers and supports us.”

Arsenal need to put a serious amount on the table if they want to convince Espanyol to let him go. Garcia is valued at around £21 million.

Compare with David Raya

In the 2023/2024 season, Garcia has a save rate of 82.5%. His height of 1m91 helps Garcia have the ability to defend against high balls and crosses from opponents quite well.

Garcia has a 16.1% interception rate for crosses, slightly better than David Raya ‘s 13% . Garcia has only conceded 8 goals in 21 games. Raya has conceded 31 goals in 41 games in all competitions.