Arsenal sign Dijon goalkeeper Runarsson

London (AFP) – Arsenal signed Iceland goalkeeper Runar Alex Runarsson from Dijon on Monday to act as back-up for first choice Bernd Leno.

Runarsson joins the Premier League club for a reported 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) after agreeing a four-year contract.

The 25-year-old replaces Emiliano Martinez after the Argentine keeper joined Aston Villa last week. 

Englishman Matt Macey was on the bench as Arsenal beat West Ham on Saturday.

“We want to create healthy competition for places and we look forward to seeing Alex bring further depth to the goalkeeping position,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told the club’s website.

Runarsson joined Ligue 1 club Dijon in July 2018 and made 13 appearances in all competitions last season.

He started his career with Icelandic outfit KR Reykjavik and went on to join FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark before moving to Dijon.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Alex to our squad. We have been monitoring him for some time and from the analysis, he has strong attributes that we look for in a goalkeeper and as a person,” Arsenal technical director Edu said.