Arsenal are expected to conduct a medical with Icelandic goalkeeper Runar Alex Runarsson by the end of Wednesday, ahead of his proposed transfer from Ligue 1 side Dijon.
The Gunners are in the market for a new backup goalkeeper after selling FA Cup hero Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa in a £20m deal earlier this week. They have seemingly settled on Runarsson after also eyeing Brentford stopper David Raya.
Goalkeeping coach Iñaki Caña has been instrumental in identifying the targets, having worked with Raya in his last job at Brentford, as well as with Runarsson during a spell at Danish club Norsjaelland.
The Daily Telegraph explains that Arsenal would have been happy to sign Raya from Brentford, but a deal was proving difficult as the Championship wanted in excess of £10m. Runarsson will arrive at a much cheaper £1.5m to provide cover for number one Bernd Leno.
Runarsson is now expected to complete his transfer to north London in time to be included on the bench for Arsenal’s London derby against West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday night.
With Dijon, the 25-year-old was part of a side that narrowly escaped relegation from France’s top flight twice. He had joined from Nordsjaelland in Denmark, where he encountered Caña, in 2018 and had previously started out in his native Iceland with KR Reykjavik.
Runarsson was capped by Iceland at senior international level for the first time in 2017 and was part of the country’s 2018 World Cup squad, albeit as a backup option.
Runarsson stands to be the sixth first-team signing of the summer for Arsenal following the new arrivals of Willian and Gabriel Magalhaes, the re-signing of Dani Ceballos on a second loan from Real Madrid and the permanent deals for Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares.
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Source: 90min
