Alvaro Arbeloa believes new Fulham signing Gonzalo Garcia is "one of the best strikers in the world" and is delighted to see him join the club.

Garcia has signed a five-year deal with the Cottagers, with the club holding an option for a further 12 months, after completing a £34m (€39.7m) move from Real Madrid.

The 22-year-old played under Arbeloa last season after the Spaniard replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm for Los Blancos.

Garcia scored eight goals and provided three assists across all competitions in 2025-26, though he could not help Madrid win any silverware.

He did, however, enjoy a brilliant Club World Cup campaign last summer, finishing as joint-top scorer in the competition.

Only Angel Di Maria, Serhou Guirassy and Marcos Leonardo matched Garcia's four goals at the competition, while his five direct goal contributions were the joint-most, alongside Michael Olise and Cole Palmer.

Garcia became Arbeloa's first signing at Fulham, and the coach is excited to see his striker in action.

"I hope he can bring goals, but obviously he has pace, he has quality, he's strong, he can run, he can press, so for me, he's one of the best strikers in the world with an amazing future," said the Fulham boss.

"I'm so happy because I know there were so many things that he wanted, and he decided to join us, so I'm so proud and really happy to have him with us."

Fulham begin their Premier League campaign on August 24 against local rivals Chelsea, who are now managed by Alonso.