Arsenal are widely-expected to land a new goalkeeper this summer with two names strongly linked with a move to the Emirates.
Arsène Wenger has lost faith in Wojciech Szczęsny since New Year’s Day whilst most don’t see David Ospina as being good enough for a side looking to maintain a title challenge.
In the past few days, reports are suggesting that the Gunners will land Petr Čech in an £11 million deal from London rivals Chelsea.
However, the latest on that is Chelsea will only sell the 33-year-old Czech Republic international should they find a replacement for him first.
Should negotiations break down between the two Premier League rivals, an alternative option appears to be opening up to Wenger once again.
Spanish newspaper AS are reporting this evening reporting that Iker Casillas wants to move to London if he leaves Madrid this summer.
With David de Gea very likely to join Real Madrid this summer, the 34-year-old Spanish legend would be demoted to third-choice goalkeeper according to their report.
Casillas would therefore want out on his €7 million-a-year (£5m) contract which still has two years remaining.
When Arsenal came calling for the Spanish number one last summer they wanted a deal on a free transfer but Madrid were not prepared to pay up his €14.5 million contract.
AS suggest that if de Gea arrives, Casillas may be in a position where he has no other choice but to leave by mutual agreement without payment in order to find himself first-team football elsewhere.
By stating that London is his preferred option, the Spanish newspaper has named three clubs who could potentially pick him up.
Arsenal are the most obvious, but their rivals Tottenham Hotspur cannot be ruled out of the chase for the World Cup and two-time European Championship winner. Spurs themselves could lose Hugo Lloris to Manchester United this summer and be in search for a new number one themselves.
Bizarrely, Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace also get a mention in the report. We can only take that with a pink of salt as it would be some step down for the footballing legend to go from the Bernabéu to Selhurst Park.
Paris Saint-Germain and Roma are also interested should Casillas not get a deal in London.
It seems that should David de Gea join Real Madrid, Arsenal will have a choice of Petr Čech or Iker Casillas. Both have stated they want to play in England’s capital, making the Gunners favourites to land either player.
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