According to a report from Iceland, Arsenal are on the verge of completing a deal to sign Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson with the player set to undergo a medical and sign a five-year deal.
With Emi Martinez off to Aston Villa because he doesn’t want to fight to be number one at Arsenal, the club were left searching for another number two.
Brentford’s David Raya has been heavily linked and there was even talk of the player handing in a transfer request to make the move happen. Brentford, however, did not want to sell.
Now, Arsenal look like they will complete a profitable deal to replace a player they’re getting £16m for.
Rúnarsson currently plays for Dijon in Ligue 1.
In addition, Rúnarsson previously worked with Arsenal goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana at FC Nordsjælland. Given the work Cana has done with Bernd Leno and Martinez, Mikel Arteta is likely to trust his opinion on goalkeepers.
Read more: What Arsenal goalkeeping coach Cana said about Rúnarsson
Rúnarsson was in and out of the Dijon team last season, appearing in 11 of their 28 league games. He got a run in the side directly before lockdown, starting four in a row.
The 25-year-old is also an Iceland international, with five caps so far. He made the squad for the most recent international break, featuring on the bench against England and Belgium in the last week. However, his last start was in November 2018.
https://twitter.com/WhoScored/status/1305519701544652800
That means he’s not a regular for club nor country but, then, neither was Martinez before his 2019 loan to Reading.
If the rumours are true and Cana likes him, we’ll have to trust his judgement.
The Icelandic report claims the player will cost Arsenal around £1.5m (250m ISK).