Arsenal were assured that Joan Garcia would be available for significantly less than his release clause up until they opened talks, according to a report.

James McNicholas and James Horncastle report for The Athletic that throughout Arsenal’s pursuit of Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia, they were assured they would be able to sign him for significantly less than his release clause.

That clause was initially set at €25m, then it rose to €30m in August. Arsenal couldn’t make a move before the clause went up because they were waiting on Aaron Ramsdale’s sale, but from what they’d been told, there was no need to hurry.

Fabrizio Romano reports that Arsenal made two bids for Garcia on deadline day, with the second worth €20m plus add-ons.

Yet The Athletic report that once talks opened, it quickly became clear that Espanyol would only sell for the full release clause. Arsenal couldn’t get them to budge on that.

That’s a significant valuation gap. It’s worth mentioning that the problem wasn’t just the €10m difference between Arsenal’s €20m bid and the €30m clause, it’s also the manner of the payment.

‘Release clauses’ in Spain are actually buy-out clauses, and they require the buying club to provide the entire fee upfront.

For comparison, reports on Mikel Merino’s move to Arsenal suggested the Gunners had accepted paying slightly more for the transfer to get Real Sociedad to agree to receiving the fee in four instalments. That’s how important the payment terms are.

But whilst Arsenal will be splitting up Merino’s £31.6m fee (£27.4m plus add-ons) into four parts, they would have had to pay £25.2m in one go to sign Garcia.

Ultimately, Arsenal decided they were better off signing Neto from Bournemouth on loan. Romano reports that they’ll keep Garcia on their shortlist, but evidently it may take some negotiation.