The two Brighton sensations Arsenal have been told to sign

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 4 Jan 2023 08:44 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal need reinforcements in midfield and club legend Manu Petit thinks it beggars belief that they haven't moved for a pair of stars down the road at Brighton.

Aside from Thomas Partey's injury record and Granit Xhaka's fluctuating form, Arsenal look pretty thin in central midfield, with Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mohamed Elneny not boasting anything like their level despite the first-choice pair's shortcomings.

The Gunners are top of the Premier League, five points clear of Manchester City, and they are expected to go shopping in the January transfer window - especially now Brazilian attacker Gabriel Jesus has been ruled out for at least three months with a knee injury.

READ: Mission impossible? Arsenal’s €12m bargain to replace Gabriel Jesus

But Petit, who won the Premier League with Arsenal in 1998 alongside Patrick Vieira in midfield, thinks Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo could perform a similar role to what he and his fellow Frenchman did all those years ago.

'Mac Allister sets the tempo'

"Mac Allister, I said this last season before he won the World Cup, he's a guy that does everything in the midfield," Petit told Mega Casino. "He sets the tempo, carries the ball. Technically, he's very good. He scores goals.

"The guy that sits next to him at Brighton, Caicedo, he's excellent. If Arsenal could take both of those players, two guys who know each other, they would fit perfectly at the club. They would do everything that [Mikel] Arteta wants in midfield. Both of them are young and could form a partnership for years."

READ: Who is Alexis Mac Allister? Brighton's Argentina midfielder linked with Chelsea

Mac Allister started six of a possible seven games as Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar, but he and his Brighton teammate wouldn't come cheap. Mac Allister and Caicedo are rated at €22.8 million and €15.3m by Football Transfers' in-house algorithm, and Seagulls squeezed €69m out of Arsenal for Ben White the summer before last.

"Mac Allister has just won the World Cup," Petit continued. "He won the Copa America last year. In terms of his experience and maturity, he played almost every single game at the World Cup, and he played really well.

"He's at Brighton! What are Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City doing? Come on! He plays brilliant football."