When it comes to 'forgotten Arsenal signings', Runar Alex Runarsson certainly deserves a mention.
Effectively viewed as a replacement for Emiliano Martinez following his £20million move to Aston Villa, and competition as well as cover for Bernd Leno at the time, the goalkeeper arrived in north London from the French outfit Dijon during the 2020 summer transfer window for a fee believed to have been in the region of £1.5million.
From there he made his competitive Gunners debut against Dundalk in a Europa League group-stage clash, keeping a clean sheet in the process. However, it quickly became clear that Runarsson didn't have a long-term future under Mikel Arteta as his below-par performance against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup did him no favours.
In fact, with Arsenal moving for Mat Ryan in a loan deal that caught many by surprise in the 2021 January transfer window, the Iceland international's last appearance for the club to date remains the 2-1 defeat against Wolves on February 2, 2021 when he replaced Thomas Partey after Leno had been sent-off.
Since then Runarsson has enjoyed loan spells with OH Leuven in Belgium and most recently in Turkey with Alanyaspor. Although, after failing to earn a permanent move he's returned to his parent club and over the weekend was even spotted boarding the plane for the pre-season tour to Germany.
Now, football.london understands the 28-year-old is free to leave Arsenal this summer should a suitable offer arrive between now and deadline day. But with just 12 months remaining on his contract, a free transfer could be on the cards, although it's hard to see another contract termination given his relatively low wages.
READ MORE: Three Hale End stars join Mikel Arteta's squad for Arsenal's pre-season training camp
Having said that, seeing Runarsson make the trip to Germany alongside the likes of Mohamed Elneny and captain Martin Odegaard may have come as a surprise to some supporters given the goalkeeper does not have a future at the club.
But Arteta has previously shown that he'll take players on the first-team tour even if it looks like they have no future with the club as last summer, for example, he brought Lucas Torreira with him to the United States even when it was clear the midfielder was on his way out.
Furthermore, even with Matt Turner still away on international duty, Runarsson may not feature against Nurnberg on Thursday as Aaron Ramsdale, Karl Hein and Arthur Okonkwo - who spent last season on loan with Crewe and Sturm Graz - are the senior goalkeeping options available to Arteta.
Which of the following prospects would you like to see in the first team, or loaned out for experience? Swipe to have your say...
