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Arsenal pushing hard to sign Barcelona star Eric Garcia

By on April 24, 2023

Arsenal are expected to submit an offer to sign Barcelona defender Eric Garcia this summer, as per the Spanish outlet Fichajes.

William Saliba has been the mainstay of the Gunners’ success so far this term, helping his side in their quest of winning the league title.

However, following the Frenchman’s injury absence, the north London club have been struggling to keep their momentum going in recent weeks, dropping points in the last three consecutive games and failing to keep a clean-sheet in the last five matches.

So, having been the bookmakers’ favourite to win the league over the last few months, they have now lost that status to Manchester City.

Therefore, it has become apparent that Arsenal need a proper backup for Saliba for next season and it appears they are looking to address that issue by signing Garcia this summer.

According to the report by Fichajes, Arteta has identified Garcia as the priority target to strengthen his backline for next season and the club have been pushing to get a deal done during the off-season.

Garcia to Arsenal

The report further claims that Arsenal are expected to make an official proposal to broker this deal over the coming months and Barcelona are ready to listen to offers for their star man.

The 22-year-old – valued at around £11m by Transfermarkt – still has more than three years left in his current contract. So, the Blaugrana are in a strong position to demand a big fee to sell the Spaniard this summer.

Garcia moved to Camp Nou during the summer of 2021 from Man City. He managed to play regular first-team football in his debut campaign in La Liga, but following Andreas Christensen’s arrival, he has found himself on the periphery this season.

It came as a big surprise that Arsenal are looking to sign the Spanish international – who has struggled to showcase his best for the Blaugrana in recent months – to bolster their defence for next season. However, having previously worked with Garcia during his time at the Etihad Stadium as Pep Guardiola’s assistant, perhaps Mikel Arteta knows the secret of bringing the best out of the 22-year-old.

Garcia is technically sound, can play out from the back and has an eye for long-range passing. However, he lacks recovery pace and there is a question mark about his physicality to play as a centre-back at the highest level.

So, I believe Arsenal would be better off exploring other options to strengthen their defence. It is going to be interesting to see whether Arsenal decide to make a concrete approach to sign Garcia this summer.