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Arsenal's Jon Toral joins Granada on season-long loan

Jason Cairnduff / Reuters

A graduate of Barcelona's La Masia who joined Arsenal when he was only 16 years old, Jon Toral is returning to La Liga.

On Tuesday, Toral, now 21, joined Granada CF on a season-long loan from Arsenal, marking the third straight year in which the attacking midfielder has been shipped out by the Gunners.

After Arsenal signed Toral in 2011 for a reported €350,000, Sandro Rosell, then Barcelona's president, described the Gunners' pursuit of the teenager as "a little immoral." Arsene Wenger then defended the signing, saying: "If you go in the academy of Barcelona and you look where all the players come from, come back to me and we can talk about it."

Toral is yet to tally a single appearance for Arsenal's senior team, but he spent the 2014-15 season on loan at Brentford where he scored six goals, and the 2015-16 season at Birmingham City where he tallied eight goals.

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