Arsenal have agreed to a SECOND summer deal, swiftly accepting bid: report

The Gunners seem to be out of contention for the title, trailing behind Liverpool by 13 points with only 11 games remaining. Manager Mikel Arteta has been dealing with a slew of injuries throughout the season, leaving him without four key forwards – Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Gabriel Jesus.

After a goalless draw against Nottingham Forest last night, Arteta told his post-match conference, that Arsenal are “adapting the quality that we have”, but with just the Champions League left to play for, there's an acceptance that this summer could be a big one in terms of squad churn.

Arsenal have agreed their next deal of the summer

Arsenal look like losing several players this summer. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney, Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson are all candidates to leave, while major first-team stars, Thomas Partey and Jorginho, are both out of contract.

In anticipation of either no.6 actually departing, The Mail journalist Sami Mokbel broke the exclusive last month that a transfer for Martin Zubimendi was “virtually complete” – but now, it appears as if the next deal is ready to go, too.

Spanish outlet AS has reported on Espanyol goalkeeper, Joan Garcia, who has been consistently linked to Arsenal over the last year or so.

Last summer, the North Londoners had agreed terms with the Spaniard but failed to land him after refusing to meet the player's release clause. Instead, Arsenal signed Bournemouth stopper Neto on loan.

Get FourFourTwo Newsletter

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Now, AS claims that there's a “good chance” that Garcia could link up with compatriot David Raya – who's ranked at no.4 in FourFourTwo's list of the best goalkeepers in the world right now – and that despite the La Liga side rejecting €20 million for the keeper last summer, they would now accept the same offer, “without hesitation”.

FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal are still looking for a long-term no.2 to challenge Raya. With a release clause that rises to €30m if Garcia plays international football, however, AS's claims about the Catalan side accepting two-thirds of that may not cast iron.

With Arsenal facing the prospect of having to pay for Zubimendi's release clause in full, it's unlikely that they will pay Garcia's, too, committing €80m on two players this summer, with no instalments, before signing a striker. Arteta will surely have to negotiate a more structured plan for Garcia or risks having to sign another backup custodian on the cheap.

Garcia is valued at €10m by Transfermarkt. Arsenal are in Champions League action next week, with their next match away in Eindhoven against PSV.