[The Athletic]
When they travelled to Spain for last week’s Champions League game with Girona, they held talks with the representatives of Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Arsenal tried and failed to recruit Garcia last summer, and intend to return for him later this year.
In the same meeting, Arsenal expressed an interest in another of the representatives’ clients: Alvaro Morata. They were interested in a loan deal for AC Milan’s 32-year-old striker. The indications were that Milan would have been prepared to sanction such a deal, but Arsenal were beaten to the punch by Galatasaray. The Turkish team were emphatic that they wanted Morata and wanted him now — Arsenal did not have the same conviction, and wanted a moment to take stock.