28-year-old surely has no Arsenal FC future with Cardiff City spell not proving fruitful
As it stands, it looks as though Runarsson will be released by the Gunners at the end of the season.
Runar Alex Runarsson’s loan spell at Cardiff City has been disappointing, as he has only made three appearances and failed to keep a clean sheet.
With competition for the goalkeeper position at Arsenal, Runarsson’s future at both clubs looks bleak, and his contract is set to expire next summer.
It is unlikely that Runarsson will have any future at the Emirates, and Arteta may choose to release him considering the team’s ambition and potential funds for a replacement.
Runar Alex Runarsson hasn’t enjoyed the best time in England following his arrival from Dijon.
Making 45 competitive appearances during his two-year spell with the then-French top-tier outfit, he seemingly did enough to secure a switch to Arsenal back in the summer of 2020.
At the time of his arrival, Mikel Arteta had chosen to persist with Bernd Leno despite seeing Emiliano Martinez shine and with the Argentine shot-stopper sealing a move to Aston Villa in September 2020, Runarsson was seemingly brought in to provide more depth.
He was heavily involved in the first team during the first half of the 2020/21 campaign, even appearing four times for Arteta’s side in the Europa League and making one appearance each in the Premier League and EFL Cup.
However, he didn’t do enough to retain his status as the top-tier giants’ backup stopper, with Matt Ryan arriving on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion during the winter window of that season.
After the Australian’s arrival, the Icelandic stopper’s involvement was limited.
And after being shut out of the first team, it came as no surprise when he joined OH Leuven and Alanyaspor on season-long loan spells.
Making enough appearances at the latter club last term (32 in all competitions) to put himself in the shop window, Cardiff City came calling during the most recent summer window.
How has Runar Alex Runarsson got on at Cardiff City?
Signing on a season-long loan, it looked as though he had a decent chance of securing a decent amount of game time in the Welsh capital.
He would have fancied his chances of beating Jak Alnwick to a starting spot considering he had come from the Emirates, but he has made just three appearances in all competitions this term, with two of those coming in the EFL Cup.
Failing to keep a clean sheet in any of the three games, he conceded nine in total, with the Bluebirds losing two of those games.
Alnwick has appeared in all other games and with Cardiff doing better than many people had expected this term, it would be difficult to see him being dropped at the moment.
With this, the rest of Runarsson’s loan spell could be a depressing one for the Gunner, and his parent club may bring him back to the Emirates if his situation remains the same and his parent club have a recall clause.
What happens after that remains to be seen.
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What next for Runar Alex Runarsson at Arsenal?
His future looks bleak at the Cardiff City Stadium at the moment and his future doesn’t look great at his parent club either.
In fairness, he was already facing an uphill battle to secure a first-team spot in the English capital next season regardless of how he got on in the Welsh capital.
David Raya has come in and secured a number one spot and Aaron Ramsdale is also at Arteta’s disposal.
Even if Ramsdale leaves, which probably won’t happen considering the ex-Sheffield United man will fancy his chances of forcing his way back into the first 11 at some point, former Reading loanee Karl Hein could potentially step up to the plate as a second-choice stopper.
And Arteta would probably have the funds to secure a replacement for Ramsdale considering how much the England international could be sold for.
The Gunners are no longer a struggling side, they are a title contender, so the board can probably afford to spend money with confidence that they will be able to generate a decent amount of income from the Champions League and other sources in the future.
With this and Runarsson’s poor Cardiff spell in mind, it would be difficult to see him having any sort of future at the Emirates.
His contract expires next summer anyway, so it may be an easy decision for Arteta to release him.
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