Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the future of wantaway Manchester City defender Eric Garcia amid reports linking him with a move to Arsenal. 

Garcia has long been the subject of transfer speculation linking him with a return to Barcelona, but a report published earlier this week by Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo suggested they had competition for the 20-year-old's signature. 

The report claimed that Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have both submitted bids for Garcia's services and cited Mikel Arteta's personal interest in bringing the player to north London.

Arteta worked alongside Garcia at City while he was working as Pep Guardiola's assistant and watched him develop into one of the most promising young defenders in world football. 

However, any optimism the Gunners faithful may have harboured regarding a deal for Garcia has been firmly quashed by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who provided a Twitter update on Friday to clarify the situation.

Romano claimed that Arsenal and PSG aren't involved in the race for Garcia at this stage and unequivocally claimed 'there's no doubt' the Spain international will sign for Barcelona having given his verbal agreement in December 2020. 

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GIVEMESPORT's Jack Saville says...

Based on this update, Arsenal fans shouldn't be holding their breath over a potential hijacking.

It's no secret that the Blaugrana are firm frontrunners to sign Garcia and Romano's update doesn't come as much of a surprise. 

However, recent reports revealing the sorry state of Barcelona's finances, with club debts totalling a whopping £1.1 billion, suggest that securing new signings could be complicated for the Spanish giants right now no matter how cheap they might be. 

Romano's update lends no reason to believe that their precarious financial situation will deter them from moving for Garcia, and that will be disappointing for Arsenal given his obvious quality. 

Perhaps most importantly, Victor Font, who is one of the leading candidates to become Barcelona president, has revealed that the player himself has informed Barcelona of his willingness to play for the club for free in order to secure a move before the January deadline, per talkSPORT.

The ball-playing central defender possesses a telepathic reading of the game and brilliant technique in possession of the ball, offering a level of promise that hints he's destined for a glowing career at the apex of European football. 

Perhaps he could follow in Gerard Pique's footsteps and achieve cult status at Barcelona after leaving Manchester for Catalonia.