Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been told to complete a double swoop for two Brighton World Cup stars in January, as the Spaniard could build around their partnership “for years” at the Emirates. The Gunners could be active in the January transfer window after Gabriel Jesus picked up an injury on international duty with Brazil in Qatar, but they have been urged to also address concerns in midfield.
Arteta’s side had been linked with both Leicester’s Youri Tielemans and Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz in the summer, as Arsenal hoped to bolster their midfield options. Neither player was signed, but ex-Gunners midfielder Emmanuel Petit believes that two fellow Premier League players could provide a perfect balance in midfield.
“If we’re talking about midfielders for Arsenal, I know the links are there with Tielemens at Leicester, who I think is a good player but I’m not sure he is what Arsenal needs,” Petit told Mega Casino. “I’m a big fan of two players from Brighton: Alexis Mac Alister and Moises Caicedo.
“Mac Alister, I said this last season before he won the World Cup, he is a guy that does everything in the midfield. He sets the tempo, carries the ball. Technically, he is very good. He scores goals.
“The guy that sits next to him at Brighton, Caicedo, he is 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 Arteta wants in midfield. Both of them are young and could form a partnership for years.
“Mac Allister has just won the World Cup. 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 is at Brighton! What are Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City doing? Come on! He plays brilliant football.”
Both players are likely to receive plenty of interest in January after their successful World Cup campaigns, especially as the Argentine played a big part in his nation being crowned champions. While Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have all previously been credited with an interest in the Ecuadorian.
Caicedo could be open to a move however, and after the summer window closed admitted he would be keen on leaving Brighton and joining his former boss Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge. “It made me very sad now that he left for Chelsea because he helped me a lot and I wanted to continue having him as a manager, but that’s football,” Caicedo told Ole in September.
“Right now I’m very focused on Brighton and the World Cup. I want to have a great World Cup and then we’ll see what happens. I think they are one of the best teams in the world and nobody would turn down an offer from Chelsea or any other club like that. It’d be a dream to be in the best teams in the world and succeed there.”
