Mikel Arteta is targeting Manchester City centre-back Eric Garcia for Arsenal, according to reports.
The 19-year-old rejected the offer of a new contract from City in August and could be available on a free transfer next summer when his deal expires.
Barcelona had a bid in excess of £15 million for Garcia rejected by City in October but the Spanish club remain keen on bringing the defender back to Camp Nou.
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Garcia came through Barcelona’s La Masia academy but did not make a first-team appearance before his departure to City in 2017.
The Spain international featured regularly after the Premier League restart last season but the arrival of Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake has increased competition for a first-team place this term.
According to The Sun, Arteta is interested in bringing Garcia to Arsenal as he is a huge admirer of the City defender.
Garcia is already a player Arteta knows well following their time together at City.
But the report claims that Arsenal will need to wait until the end of the season before making a move for Garcia due to their surplus of options in central defence.
David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi could leave at the end of the campaign once their contracts expire.
But that will still leave Arteta with five centre-back options in Gabriel, Rob Holding, Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers and William Saliba.
