Arsenal turn attention towards signing 27-year-old Italy international: Reports

Arsenal have set their sights on signing Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret, according to reports. The Gunners have terminated their interest in Espanyol shot-stopper Joan Garcia.

Arsenal signed David Raya on a permanent deal in the summer after his excellent campaign last term. The Spain international maintained 16 clean sheets in 32 Premier League appearances last season, playing a crucial role in the Gunners' title challenge.

Aaron Ramsdale, who was Mikel Arteta's preferred goalkeeper in the past, departed the Emirates Stadium in the summer after losing his spot to Raya. He joined Southampton for a reported £25 million fee including add-ons.

The north Londoners were linked with Joan Garcia before the window shut as a replacement for Ramsdale. However, the transfer never materialized and the Gunners opted to sign Neto on loan from Bournemouth instead.

While Neto can provide reinforcements this season, the club will have to make arrangements for a long-term backup goalkeeper. According to Football Transfers, Arsenal are no longer keeping tabs on Garcia to potentially fill this role (via Caught Offside).

Instead, the north London outfit have turned their attention towards signing Napoli's Alex Meret, whose contract is set to expire next summer. However, whether the 27-year-old shot-stopper would be willing to leave Italy to spend most of his time on the bench at Arsenal remains to be seen.

"Getting out and playing was my aim" - Aaron Ramsdale on leaving Arsenal to join Southampton

Aaron Ramsdale has opened up about leaving the Gunners, explaining his reason for choosing Southampton in the summer. The Englishman admitted that it was due to his lack of game time.

During the 2022-23 campaign, Ramsdale played an instrumental role for Arteta's side as they mounted their first title challenge in years against Manchester City. He played every single minute of their Premier League action that season, maintaining 14 clean sheets.

The Gunners then brought in Raya on loan from Brentford before last season. Ramsdale made a handful of appearances at the start of last term before seeing Raya surmount him as Arteta's No.1.

Speaking before Arsenal's 3-1 win over Southampton on 5 October, Ramsdale told BBC Sport:

"If I was sitting on the bench, it [winning a trophy] wouldn’t have meant that much to me. I just wanted to play football. As a kid, I wanted to play football to play, not to just sit on a bench. Getting out and playing was my aim so I'm lucky I found myself here at Southampton."

Ramsdale has made five Premier League starts for Southampton so far this season.