Arsenal have been joined by Spanish giants Real Madrid in the race to sign midfielder Marc Roca from Espanyol – according to Mundo Deportivo.
The report claims: “Real Madrid does not lose sight of Marc Roca and keeps his name underlined in the futures agenda for this summer.
“The international parakeet was already surveyed last August by the merengue sports management, but Espanyol did not receive any firm offer for him, since he was planted in the 40 million that appear in the Roca clause.
“There was no movement at the end, but it is not ruled out that in this summer market, depending on whether Abelardo’s team maintains the category or not, Real Madrid puts the option of signing Marc Roca on the table again.”
Will Marc Roca snub Arsenal and join Real Madrid?
Marc Roca has come up through the ranks at Espanyol and this season, the defensive midfielder has featured in 24 La Liga matches – scoring two goals and providing one assist.
Last month, Arsenal had already made an offer for Roca but the deal could be finalised due to the lockdown but now with the entry of Real Madrid, the Premier League side might very well miss out on the 23-year-old.
This will be a big blow for Mikel Arteta but we do not think the Spaniard will be too concerned about the situation since Arsenal are also chasing Thomas Partey who any day will be a better buy.
The North London side are said to be the frontrunners in signing Thomas right now, and if that deal goes through then Arsenal will not be challenging Real Madrid in the transfer of Marc Roca.
Some pundits have labelled Marc Roca as one of the most underrated holding midfielders in Europe but surely Arteta will opt to sign someone like Thomas instead of taking a risk with the Espanyol man next season.
But before Arsenal can try and make a move for either Marc Roca or Thomas Partey, Arteta will have to ensure he clears up some lockerroom space since players like Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira have been really disappointing this season.
