Arsenal have signed goalkeeper Alex Runarsson on a four-year contract from Ligue 1 club Dijon.

Runarsson will wear the number 13 shirt and is expected to deputise for first-choice goalkeeper Bernd Leno, replacing Emiliano Martinez who left Arsenal for Aston Villa in a deal worth £17m. The 25-year-old Iceland international joined the Ligue 1 club in July 2018 and made 13 appearances in all competitions last season. “I’m just extremely happy, extremely proud, it is a big day for me and my family. I can’t wait to get started”, he told Arsenal’s website. “It is one of the biggest clubs in the world – they’ve won the Premier League (top division) 13 times, the FA Cup 14 times, it is a huge club and obviously playing in the Premier League as well, it is a win-win situation. “I know it is going to be a lot of hard work, but I am ready to do everything I can to get the most amount of minutes as possible.” Technical director Edu said: “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.” Mikel Arteta added: “We want to create healthy competition for places and we look forward to seeing Alex bring further depth to the goalkeeping position.”