Only one thing stands between Arsenal and Caicedo after come-and-get-me plea

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 21 Apr 2023 09:35 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal’s summer transfer plans are already coming together weeks before the end of the Premier League season.

Moises Caicedo dropped the strongest hint yet that he wants the Gunners to rekindle a move for him during the summer when he said that he wants the Emirates club to win the league.

Having learned from his experience of January, when he publicly pushed for a move to Mikel Arteta’s side only to have his hopes shattered as Brighton rejected Arsenal’s offers, the Ecuador international will know very well the type of stir his comments would cause.

EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal prioritise Caicedo summer transfer

“Who do I want to win the league? Arsenal, of course,” he told the Telegraph, admitting that he was “really close to signing” and that the late breakdown of talks “hurt” him a great deal.

He added: “I’d seen a lot of Arsenal before knowing that there was a possibility of me signing for them. I watched them and I liked them because they have very young, talented players and some stars but they always have that mindset of wanting more.”

It was a clear come-and-get-me message from the 21-year-old as is possible.

MORE: Why €110m La Liga duo would make Arsenal Champions League ready

Caicedo is Arsenal’s summer transfer priority

Arsenal will now reciprocate. Although West Ham’s Declan Rice is on Arteta’s radar – surely more so after his wonderful solo goal for West Ham against Gent in the Conference League on Thursday – FootballTransfers understands the Caicedo is their absolute priority to strengthen their midfield in the summer.

But this deal still has some distance left to run, with a transfer far from a formality.

Arsenal have shown in the recent past that they will not be extorted over transfers. The Mykhailo Mudryk case in January proved that as they would rather the Ukraine winger go to Chelsea than overpay for him.

Brighton, meanwhile, are known to be tough negotiators, yet just how much leeway they have in this case of Caicedo is unclear. Although the South American has recently signed a new contract with the club, that may have been done in the understanding that he would remain focused for the remainder of the season and given a passage to leave in the summer should a fair offer come in.

FootballTransfers understands that Arsenal are unwilling to go above £100 million for either Caicedo or Rice, while there are other targets on their shortlist.

Nevertheless, it is abundantly clear what both the player and the Gunners want.