'I could not miss this opportunity' - Arsenal summer transfer target admits relief at failed Gunners move after achieving career goal at current club

Arsenal reportedly bid €20 million (£17m/$22m) for Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia this summer but the La Liga team valued him at €30m (£25m/$33m). Now, the 23-year-old has opened up on staying with his current side, saying he "could not miss this opportunity" after cementing his place in goal.

He told Marca on Thursday: "I tried to isolate myself from everything that was being talked about. I had been given the opportunity for what I had been fighting for a long time, which was to be Espanyol’s starting goalkeeper. And I could not miss this opportunity."

Ultimately, Garcia would have been a backup option to Arsenal's first-choice stopper, David Raya. The former Spain under-21 player only made his first-team breakthrough towards the tail end of last season and if he continues to perform well, the 6ft 3in man is likely to get plenty more opportunities to become a bigger team's number one option - rather than a deputy.

Arsenal, who ended up selling second-choice keeper Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton and bringing in Bournemouth's Neto on loan to compete with Raya, may yet try and swoop for Garcia again in 2025, however.