are in pole position to, it has been claimed. The Gunners need to sign a new goalkeeper this summer as Neto prepares to return to Bournemouth at the end of his loan spell.

Neto signed in a late August deal after Aaron Ramsdale moved to Southampton in a permanent move worth £18million. The Brazilian has acted as back-up to David Raya, making just one first-team appearance this term.

Although it's anticipated that Garcia would start as second-choice to Raya, the expectation is that the Espanyol 'keeper would provide competition and push for a starting place in the long-term.

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According to TEAMTalk, Arsenal are at the front of the queue to sign the 24-year-old. Barcelona and Aston Villa have expressed an interest, but the Gunners appear to be winning the race to sign him.

Mikel Arteta views Garcia as the perfect fit, having impressed in La Liga across the last couple of years. This season, Garcia has conceded just 49 goals in 36 league matches, keeping seven clean sheets.

Espanyol value Garcia at £25million but are prepared to let him go for HALF that price to ensure he is sold before the end of June. They need to sell for financial reasons and want to offload the Spaniard in the next six weeks.

It's claimed that Espanyol are open to selling him for as a little as £12.6m - a price that could prove to be a bargain for Arsenal, having sold Ramsdale for a considerable amount more less than 12 months ago.

Last month, Espanyol head coach Manolo Gonzalez dropped a major hint over the future of Garcia, hinting that he will be allowed to leave the club this summer. "I can't guarantee that he'll stay at Espanyol next season. You're all seeing the level he's at, which is what it is."

Garcia has previously said that a summer move would be in the interest of all parties involved, and he admitted in April that if he leaves Espanyol it will be done in the "best way".

"At the moment I'm not thinking about that [future], but you never know. If it happens, let it happen in the best way," he told .

"If in the end it turns out that I have to leave, how can I not say goodbye well? Espanyol are the club that has given me everything. If I go through the back door, it wouldn’t go well."