Left by Emiliano Martinez, Arsenal Bring In Goalkeeper from Iceland

DBasia.news – Arsenal did not have to look for a replacement for Emiliano Martinez who joined Aston Villa, because their hunt had narrowed the name of Iceland goalkeeper Runar Alex Runarsson.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper arrived in England on Friday last week and traveled to Arsenal’s London training center Colney. Runarsson will complete his € 1.1 million transfer from French club Dijon.

Runarsson has undergone a medical at Arsenal and is only a matter of time before being introduced to the public by the Gunners. Runarsson will compete with Bernd Leno for the position of Arsenal’s main goalkeeper.

The appearance of Runarsson’s name as a substitute for Martinez cannot be separated from the role of Inaki Cana, the Arsenal goalkeeping coach who has worked with Runarsson at FC Nordsjaelland in mid-2015 to 2018.

“It depends on what I expect from my staff. In the end I bring a very special quality staff to add to what we are trying to do,” said Arteta as quoted by Goal.

“Then I have to give them responsibility because I want them to be accountable for the tasks I have given them and the clear roles I have given them.”

“When it comes to goalkeeping, he (Kana) has a big say in how we will apply our methodology, how we will train them, how we will train them and how we will treat the goalkeeping position in the short, medium and long term.”

Not only to Cana, Mikel Arteta is also open to talking to his coaching staff to discuss players or analysis in their respective fields.

“It’s clear in the end I make the decisions, but it’s very important that the people around me, who on many occasions have clearer criteria and specificities than I do, that I really listen to them and try to follow the feelings they have,” added Arteta.

“I have as much faith in Inaki as I do with the rest of the staff who are here. I will take her to the medical department, with the physiotherapist, the kit officer, every department that is here. They have more expertise than me.”

“I want to control them, I want to make sure they share the values and direction we want to take, but in the end they have to take action most of the time,” Arteta explained.

Throughout his career, Runarsson has had five caps with the Icelandic national team. Before defending Dijon from 2018 Runarsson defended KR Reykjavik (2012-13) and FC Nordsjaelland (2015-2018).