Arsenal had serious interest in signing Joan Garcia during the last transfer window and even reached an agreement on personal terms with the goalkeeper.
The Gunners were waiting to sell Aaron Ramsdale before adding Garcia to their squad and launched a bid for his signature as soon as they sold the Englishman.
However, Espanyol was not inclined to do business that late in the transfer window and demanded that Arsenal pay Garcia’s full release clause.
The Gunners made what should have been considered a substantial offer to sign the Olympic gold medalist, but Espanyol stood firm, leading Arsenal to turn to Neto, whom they signed on loan instead.
Espanyol director Mao Ye has since discussed the transfer saga. When journalists asked him about it, he insisted that he was pleased they managed to keep the goalkeeper.
He said to Mundo Deportivo:
“The president has always prioritised sporting performance over economic performance. We have never pushed for a sale if it has not been in economic conditions close to the clause.
“As far as Joan García is concerned, we think it is the best thing for the club and for him. After a great season, he will be in a better position to assess his professional career.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
We are one of the top clubs in Europe, so teams would want to make a good fee before selling their players to us.
However, at the end of this season, if we bid early, Espanyol could sell Garcia below his release clause.
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“Espanyol was not inclined to do business that late in the transfer window and demanded that Arsenal pay Garcia’s full release clause.” An example of the potential perils of leaving business late in a transfer window. Ten weeks should really be long enough.
A knock-on effect of selling Ramsdale late in the window (who had to leave Arsenal first) meant that there was not enough time to at least continue negotiations with Espanyol. We don’t know whether they would have succeeded in the end of course. Equally, we don’t know if we’ll get him next summer either as he’s a promising keeper so other clubs are likely to be interested.
They simply wanted the €30 million from the beginning which we did not want to pay. We were hoping they would reconsider especially as the player preferred the move but they continued hoping we would agree to the release clause. Neither party blinked. When the deadline arrived they were left with Garcia and we turned to an alternative.
Didn’t his release clause increase during the window? It was 25 M in July.
Why not sign an experienced keeper like Andre Blake of jamaica