Arsenal look set to sign a replacement for Emiliano Martinez.
According to Sky Sports News, the Gunners are closing in on a move to bring Dijon goalkeeper Runar Alex Runarsson to North London.
The 25-year-old has been in France’s top flight since 2018 and with five caps for Iceland, he’s an experienced keeper in his own right.
But you could still argue that it’s a pretty big gamble for Arsenal to sign him.
It isn’t a gamble in terms of transfer fee, because we’re talking about a £1.6 million investment.
But he’s also replacing a goalkeeper who was arguably Mikel Arteta’s most surprising player during Project Restart, after deputising for the injured Bernd Leno.
Martinez produced a string of outstanding performances in the Premier League and the FA Cup, as Arteta’s side won a trophy in his first half-a-season in football management.
Leno is back now, which allowed the Argentine to join Aston Villa, but the former Bayer Leverkusen stopper has two ligament-related injuries over the past 16 months and Arsenal might be in trouble if they’re forced to rely on Runarsson for an extended period of time.
It isn’t impossible that Runarsson – who conceded 61 times in 36 Ligue 1 games – is a brilliant goalkeeper who takes to English football like a duck to water if he were thrown in at the deep end, but so many don’t.
Arsenal fans and staff should be hoping that they don’t find themselves in a position where the potential new boy has to cover the German for a long period.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
