Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo has admitted he suffered a loss of confidence due to the pressure of the transfer fee paid to bring him from Brighton.

The Ecuador international arrived at Stamford Bridge from the Seagulls last summer for a massive £100m fee that could rise to a British club record £115m (per BBC Sport).

However, Caicedo struggled to show his best form throughout 2023/24, especially suffering as Chelsea made a poor start to the season under Mauricio Pochettino.

“The beginning was tough for me, because you are at a big club, the price, you always have to win every game,” Caicedo told reporters (via BBC Sport).

“It was tough for me because when I was in Brighton, the pressure is less. At Chelsea, it is different. I felt a lot of pressure because you know the club, the history, the players who were there.

“But after the last four or five months, I felt more comfortable at the club.”

Asked if he lost confidence, Caicedo said: “Yes, confidence. I have the quality and I know the player I am. But sometimes if you are not strong in your mind, it is difficult.”

• “100% the right” decision not to join Liverpool says former big-money Reds target Caicedo

In the end, it was now-departed Pochettino and his staff who helped get Caicedo back on track, with the 22-year-old’s form picking up as Chelsea rallied to finish sixth and qualify for the UEFA Conference League.

“A lot of people around me helped me – Mauricio and his staff. They were with me when I felt like I was not the same Moises,” Caicedo added.

“[I asked them] ‘Please help me because I want to show my quality, my football.’ They were with me. I have a person outside of the club who helped me a lot to get the pressure out of my mind.

“A guy I speak to regularly told me, ‘Moises, you are a good player, you can do whatever you want on the pitch with responsibility. Just trust in yourself. If Chelsea paid that [much money] for you, it’s because you are a very good player.'”

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Last summer Liverpool and Chelsea battled it out to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton and the midfielder has now stated that it was “100% the right” decision to move to Stamford Bridge.

The Ecuador star impressed many during his time with the Seagulls, which led to Liverpool and Chelsea becoming interested in the midfield star.

The two Premier League giants went head-to-head by submitting huge offers to Brighton for Caicedo and in the end the London club won the race having agreed a British-record fee of £115m.

This was an incredible amount of money for a club to be paying for a defensive midfielder and so far it has not paid off as the 22-year-old was largely underwhelming last season. However, being so young, that could change for the Chelsea star very quickly and the Ecuadorian talent has said that he made the right decision to move to Stamford Bridge.

“I still remember one year ago… difficult decision, Liverpool is a big team but Chelsea were with me for a couple months and I felt like I couldn’t miss this move,” Caicedo said via Fabrizio Romano.

“They were with me in tough times, it was a difficult decision… but 100% the right one.”

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Who has benefitted the most from Moises Caicedo’s decision?

Going off last season, Liverpool have benefitted the most from Caicedo deciding to join Chelsea as the Ecuador star was not very good and the Reds brought in players such as Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for the money they would have spent on the former Brighton star – with the Argentina international being the cheapest and the best of the bunch.

However, the midfielder’s time shouldn’t be judged just yet as the London club has been in chaos ever since their new owners arrived and many hope this season it will settle.

The 22-year-old is undoubtedly a good player and the upcoming campaign will be the biggest of his career as the former Brighton star needs to start justifying the British-record fee Chelsea paid for him last summer.

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Ecuador have plenty of young talent to spark a potential golden generation, which can begin at the 2024 Copa America. One of the players that many expect to help the Ecuadorian side take their game to the next level.

La Tri have had an up-and-down Copa America through two matches, losing to Venezuela and winning over Jamaica to keep themselves alive in the race to advance to the knockout stage.

Nonetheless, WhoScored.com spotlights Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo as one of Ecuador’s top midfielders through their first two matches. According to the statistical media outlet, no player has made more interceptions than Caicedo (7) at the Copa America.

No player has made more interceptions than Moisés Caicedo (7) at the 2024 Copa America. ?#CA2024 pic.twitter.com/lwpW32hLRB

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 29, 2024

After their draw against Mexico on Sunday, Ecuador will advance to the knockout stage, where they will face the reigning Copa America champions, Argentina. If they want to advance past arguably the best team in the world, they’ll need players like Caicedo to be ontop of their game.

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Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo gave his side the lead against Bournemouth on Sunday with an incredible lob from the centre circle at Stamford Bridge.

This was Caicedo’s first ever strike for the Blues and it was a contender for the Premier League’s Goal of the Season award.

Chelsea went on to win the game 2-1 and finished the season sixth in the table.

That means that the Blues will play in Europe next season.

Chelsea will enter the UEFA Europa League if Manchester City beat Manchester United in next weekend’s FA Cup final.

If United win at Wembley then Chelsea will go into the Conference League instead.

Current status: watching this on repeat. pic.twitter.com/qbcrC0rIet

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 19, 2024

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Since Todd Boehly took over at Chelsea, spending on players particularly during the summer transfer windows, has been rampant.

The American appears to have taken buying and selling first-team staff to new extremes, and has ensured that no players are out of reach should the desire to sign them be there.

Twice the club have broken the British transfer record under Boehly’s ownership, with Enzo Fernandes and Moises Caicedo arriving at the club for well over £100m.

Todd Boehly slams criticism of Chelsea’s transfer business

The churn of outgoings has continued unabated too, as for all of the investments made for incoming stars, room needs to be made for the club to not need to tip-toe around Financial Fair Play rules.

Whether it’s jealousy or otherwise, it’s clear that Boehly’s way of hoovering up talent, causing him to ride roughshod over everyone else, has got the backs up of other clubs in the Premier League and elsewhere.

The American hit back regarding any criticism that’s come his way for the way in which he’s doing business.

? Todd Boehly on Chelsea spending: “We are not spending the money, we are investing the money”.

“When we are spending, we are investing and those players continue to hold their value”.

“I argue the investments made at Chelsea have held their value”, via @QatarEconForum. pic.twitter.com/AoDcOF6OBu

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 15, 2024

“We are not spending the money, we are investing the money,” he said to the Qatar Economic Forum, quoted via Fabrizio Romano’s official X account.

“When we are spending, we are investing and those players continue to hold their value.

“I argue the investments made at Chelsea have held their value.”

Ever since the American took over in West London, he appears to have been the subject of intense criticism and scrutiny.

What seems to lie behind that is just how he can afford to be able to bring in players for such extortionate transfer fees and be able to hold them to excessively long contracts.

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Clearly, Boehly isn’t interested in listening to all the noise regarding his purchases for the club, and nor is he likely to be bothered if more criticism comes his way should he decide to get rid of manager, Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentinian looks to have finally turned the corner with his players, and not before time, though whether that’s enough to satiate an owner with incredibly lofty ambitions isn’t known at this point.

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This article was originally published on the Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Charles Watts’ exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service at thedailybriefing.io

Arsenal keeping tabs on Joshua Zirkzee, but is he what they need?

There’s a long list of strikers who have been linked to Arsenal ahead of the summer window. Some are real big hitters, such as Alexander Isak at Newcastle and Victor Osimhen at Napoli, but there are some who are slightly less well known, with Joshua Zirkzee at Bologna one of those.

He’s a forward Arsenal have been keeping tabs on according to some well sourced reports. Arsenal’s interest in Zirkzee was first broken back in January by Sam Dean at the Daily Telegraph and it’s a link that continues to bubble away as we head towards the summer. He’s an interesting player, one who looks destined for a big move soon.

I can’t pretend to be an expert on him, he’s not someone I’ve seen a lot of, but he’s clearly got a lot of potential and would add something to Arsenal’s squad that they don’t really have in attack. Whether he would move the needle enough for Arsenal though at this point I’m not sure.

I feel Arsenal are at a point now where any big money signings really need to come in and improve the squad immediately and I’m not sure Zirkzee does that. It would be a case of buying potential and while there is always room for that, Arsenal really need a forward who will come in and hit the ground running. That’s why I still feel they should throw everything at getting Isak out of Newcastle.

Eze and Olise dazzle for Palace – could they be priorities for Arsenal this summer?

I think either Eberechi Eze or Michael Olise would be a perfect fit for Arsenal this summer. I know the club is looking for a new attacking player who could add a bit of X-Factor to the team, someone who can come in and make something out of nothing.

We’ve seen Arsenal struggle at times against the low block this season. I think back to the second leg against Bayern in the Champions League and they were protecting their lead by dropping deep in those final 25 minutes. Arsenal just didn’t have anyone on the pitch that night who looked like pulling something unexpected out of the bag and opening them up. Someone like Eze or Olise could do that, especially the latter, as we saw in particular with his dazzling performance as Palace surprisingly thrashed Manchester United 4-0 last night.

I do look at Olise and wonder if he is an Arteta type player. He’s perhaps a bit too individualistic for the Spaniard in terms of how he plays and he would certainly have to work very hard to improve what he does off the ball to really fit in at Arsenal. But his quality is there for all to see and I think he would improve any top squad, including Arteta’s.

Marc Guehi is another player at Palace who has been linked to Arsenal. They were looking at him a couple of seasons ago, but I’m not sure if that interest still really remains. He’s a good player, but I think Arsenal have other priorities when it comes to potentially improving their defensive options.

Was Moises Caicedo a bullet dodged by Arsenal?

There’s been a lot of sliding doors moments when it comes to Arsenal transfers in the last couple of years. If things had worked out differently the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Moises Caicedo could all have been wearing the red and white.

Caicedo was a player they really wanted and were willing to pay big money for. But they weren’t going to pay what Brighton were asking for so they walked away after seeing multiple bids rejected in January, 2023.

Obviously they then went and signed Declan Rice the following summer, but as far as I’m aware they still would have gone for the West Ham captain even if they had managed to get Caicedo in the summer. The plan was always to try and get both of them, not one.

Caicedo hasn’t exactly been a massive success at Chelsea, although he has started to put in stronger performances as the season has gone on. He’s clearly an excellent player and I do think we would have seen him hit top form far sooner had he moved to Arsenal rather than Chelsea.

It’s just an easier environment for a player to settle at the moment and Arteta has shown how can quickly improve players. Look at Kai Havertz for example.

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Chelsea’s issues are much publicised and it’s tough for any player to walk into that club right now and show their best form straight away, Cole Palmer aside perhaps. So I don’t really look at Caicedo and view it as a bullet dodged.

To be honest it’s the same with Mudryk. I just can’t shake the feeling that both players would have performed very differently had they walked into the Arsenal changing room rather than the Chelsea one.

Arsenal have done all they can, but I’m beginning to fear it won’t be enough

Arsenal deserve so much credit for their results in recent weeks. They’ve done all they can to put the pressure on Manchester City, picking up some really big wins in highly pressurised circumstances, but each time City have just shrugged off that pressure and got the job done themselves.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, I just don’t see that changing over the last couple of weeks of the season. City couldn’t really have handpicked a better trio of opponents to play between now and the end of the season than the ones they have. Tottenham and West Ham are a shambles right now, as they showed with the manner of their defeats at the weekend, and Fulham have been on the beach for weeks.

I always thought that if City were going to drop points it would have been at Nottingham Forest and had Chris Wood been more clinical on the day, that could and probably should have happened. City got away with one at the City Ground. They rode their luck at one end and then took their chances at the other. That was a massive win for them on a day they were far from their best.

That always looked to me like being their most difficult fixture of the run-in and I’ve seen nothing recently which has changed my mind. I do think Arsenal will win their final two matches themselves. But it still won’t be enough to get that elusive first title in 20 years.

The post Arsenal transfer news: Zirkzee links, Eze & Olise ideal signings, past Caicedo interest, and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal won’t necessarily view Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo as a bullet dodged, despite him making a slow start to life at Stamford Bridge in comparison to how Declan Rice has got off to a flyer in his first season at the Emirates Stadium.

According to Charles Watts as he spoke exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Arsenal really wanted Caicedo, and were keen to sign the Ecuador international as well as Rice in what could have been a dream midfield partnership.

Watts is also sure that Caicedo would have performed very differently at Arsenal if he’d moved there instead of to Chelsea, where current Gunners star Kai Havertz also struggled before moving across London last summer.

Caicedo has also shown some signs of improvement recently, so it could be that the Blues will see the very best of him soon, as he showed immense potential during his time at former club Brighton.

Arsenal will no doubt be delighted they ended up with Rice, but it could still be that they’ll wonder what could have been if they’d signed both players.

Caicedo transfer failure not a bullet dodged for Arsenal

“Caicedo was a player they really wanted and were willing to pay big money for. But they weren’t going to pay what Brighton were asking for so they walked away after seeing multiple bids rejected in January, 2023,” Watts said.

“Obviously they then went and signed Declan Rice the following summer, but as far as I’m aware they still would have gone for the West Ham captain even if they had managed to get Caicedo in the summer. The plan was always to try and get both of them, not one.

“Caicedo hasn’t exactly been a massive success at Chelsea, although he has started to put in stronger performances as the season has gone on. He’s clearly an excellent player and I do think we would have seen him hit top form far sooner had he moved to Arsenal rather than Chelsea.

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“It’s just an easier environment for a player to settle at the moment and Arteta has shown how can quickly improve players. Look at Kai Havertz for example.

“Chelsea’s issues are much publicised and it’s tough for any player to walk into that club right now and show their best form straight away, Cole Palmer aside perhaps. So I don’t really look at Caicedo and view it as a bullet dodged.

“To be honest it’s the same with Mudryk. I just can’t shake the feeling that both players would have performed very differently had they walked into the Arsenal changing room rather than the Chelsea one.”

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Villa defeat is disastrous but a result at Bayern can change the narrative

Sunday was a disaster for Arsenal, especially following on from the events at Anfield prior to kick-off. Liverpool’s home defeat to Crystal Palace gave Mikel Arteta’s side a chance to take full control of the title race, but they fluffed their lines in a way few of us were expecting.

It was the classic game of two halves really. The first half was actually pretty decent and had Arsenal taken one of the good chances they created, they probably would have gone on and won the game. But they were wasteful in front of goal and Villa made them pay the price after the interval. Villa were excellent and they deserve a lot of credit. Unai Emery adjusted things at half-time and Arsenal had no real answer to it.

And that’s the big worry really. Given what was at stake and the unexpected opportunity that was handed to them by Liverpool, the fact Arsenal couldn’t rouse themselves in the second half and find a way to get themselves back on top was really disappointing. But it has to be remembered that Arsenal have been pretty much faultless in 2024 in the Premier League. The results prior to Sunday had been sensational and it’s so, so hard to maintain that sort of level for months on end.

A setback was always going to happen, the crucial thing now is how they respond. Yes, Manchester City are now in the driving seat, but it’s not over yet and Arsenal do play twice before City are next in action in the league. Win those games and they will be four points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side. That has to be the aim because you never know what can happen. It’s unlikely, but City could always slip up.

I don’t think the defeat should change anything in terms of how Arsenal approach things against Bayern. Mikel Arteta will still believe his team can win both trophies, so he won’t be prioritising either competition yet. It’s going to be an incredibly difficult game for Arsenal. Not taking a lead with them for the second leg has left them facing a really tough task. They don’t exactly have a mountain to climb, but they do have a pretty steep hill to scale.

But what an opportunity it is. A win at the Allianz Arena at this stage of the competition will go down as one of Arsenal’s great European results. They have a great chance to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League and that’s how they will approach it.

I thought Declan Rice’s post-match comments on Sunday were spot on. “It’s time to pull our socks up and show everyone why we’re in this position,” he said. All eyes are on Arsenal now after the result against Villa. Plenty think they are about to see the season implode in April yet again. A positive result in Munich, however, will quickly see that narrative shift.

Don’t rule out Arsenal targeting a new left-back but are we writing Zinchenko off too soon?

Oleksandr Zinchenko has become a bit of a scapegoat this season at Arsenal. There tends to be one player who is a bit divisive within the fanbase and Zinchenko is certainly that player right now.

Some of the criticism is justified, but some is a  bit harsh in my opinion. When you look at what went wrong for Arsenal on Sunday for example, I’m not really sure Zinchenko was at the heart of it. But, judging by the amount of criticism that has come his way over the past few days, you would think he was. Yes, there were a few errors of judgement in the second half, one of which could easily have been very costly. But there were also good points in the first half which could easily have led to Arsenal opening the scoring.

And that’s always been the thing with Zinchenko – there are undeniable positives, but there are also obvious negatives. The thing is that right now, probably for the first time since he joined, the negatives are starting to outweigh the positives. Arsenal’s side has evolved at pace under Arteta. Last season Zinchenko was an essential part of it, but now his place in the starting XI is up for debate.

Arteta definitely has a decision to make when it comes to Zinchenko in the summer. Arsenal have clear priorities in the summer transfer market and they are higher up the pitch than in defence, but I wouldn’t rule out a new left-back arriving. Whether that be a specialised left-back, or a player who can operate both as a full-back or as a centre-back remains to be seen. Arsenal have been monitoring Jorrel Hato at Ajax for example and it’s understandable to see why a player of his versatility and potential could be appealing.

But I wouldn’t say we are definitely approaching the end of Zinchenko’s time at Arsenal. I still think he could have a key role to play in this squad, potentially even higher up the pitch where his defensive deficiencies could leave the team less exposed. He’s a quality footballer who is having a difficult period, but Arteta believes in him and it’s far too early to write him off as an Arsenal player.

Ollie Watkins would be a superb signing for Arsenal but there are two more realistic alternatives

Ollie Watkins is having a remarkable season. The way he took his goal on Sunday showed just how confident he is in the final third. He’s long been mentioned as a potential target for Arsenal, but as far as I’m aware there has never been anything close to happening when it comes to him and a move to North London. He was a big Arsenal fan growing up and he has Arsenal connections through his representatives, but that is as far as it goes.

It’s no secret that Arsenal are looking for a new forward and of course Watkins’ name will be on any list that they have drawn up. It would have to be given the heights he has reached since joining Villa and how his all round game has improved under Unai Emery. But I would be surprised if he is someone they would actually go for. Obviously, you can never rule anything out, but he has a long-term contract at Villa, who are a club who are financially secure and could well be competing in the Champions League next season, so they have absolutely no need to sell – it would take an astronomical offer to tempt them into doing business.

Plus, Watkins will be 29 in December, so I just can’t see it happening. Strikers like Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres, who both have release clauses, are probably far more realistic. But the fact is, nothing is decided yet when it comes to Arsenal’s hunt for a new striker. They want one and I think they will get one, but I just can’t say for now who that will be and what sort of forward it will be. Signing a top striker is notoriously difficult due to the finances involved and Edu will know he has a very difficult summer ahead of him as he looks to improve Arsenal’s frontline.

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Leandro Trossard transfer was a late Plan B option but has proven excellent for Arsenal

Arsenal’s move for Leandro Trossard was a classic example of a club having to think fast in the transfer market. They had spent the entirety of January, 2023 (and several weeks prior to that) trying to sign Mykhailo Mudryk and they thought they were going to get him.

But then of course Chelsea hijacked the deal late on in the window and that left Arsenal with a decision to make. They could have stuck with what they had, but they were going for the Premier League title and Arteta wanted more firepower. Arsenal always have backup options in the transfer market. That’s how Edu and Arteta operate. They have shown they can quickly shift targets before, such as when they went for Zinchenko after missing out on Lisandro Martinez and also when they landed Jorginho almost immediately after failing to sign Moises Caicedo.

So when Chelsea signed Mudryk, they had to shift attention elsewhere and Leandro Trossard was a player they knew well and one they knew was available due to his situation with Brighton. It was a low risk signing and one Arsenal were happy to do. They knew they were getting a versatile, Premier League ready attacker who would fit in well to Arteta’s demands.

I wouldn’t say he was someone Arsenal always had at the top of their list, but he was a player who ticked a lot of Arsenal’s boxes and he’s proven to be an excellent addition. I don’t know if Arsenal are working on a new contract for him. It’s not something I’ve heard of just yet, but I know everyone at the club is very happy with him and what he has produced so far. He’s not even been at the club for 18 months yet, so there is no rush when it comes to Trossard. I can’t imagine he will be going anywhere any time soon.

The post Arsenal transfer news: Watkins links, potential Zinchenko exit, wonderkid interest, Trossard contract & more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal FC journalist Charles Watts has provided some exclusive insight into how the Gunners had to think quickly last January when they moved for Leandro Trossard as a Plan B to Mykhailo Mudryk, who ended up joining Chelsea.

Watts says Arsenal spent a lot of time trying to sign Mudryk while he was at Shakhtar Donetsk, but they often have backup options in mind, and saw Trossard as a low-risk alternative to the Ukraine international.

Funnily enough, Trossard has almost certainly ended up as the better signing now after a great impact since his move to the Emirates Stadium, but he’s not someone the north London giants necessarily had on their radar for a long time.

Still, Watts praised Arsenal for their work with Trossard, and also highlighted the similarity with the Jorginho deal, which also came last January, while Chelsea again perhaps rushed a bit in getting rid of a proven, experienced player in favour of blowing vast amounts of money on relatively unproven young talent who are yet to live up to expectations.

Trossard transfer: How it came about and ended up being better than the Mudryk deal

Looking back at the saga of last January, Watts said: “Arsenal’s move for Leandro Trossard was a classic example of a club having to think fast in the transfer market. They had spent the entirety of January, 2023 (and several weeks prior to that) trying to sign Mykhailo Mudryk and they thought they were going to get him.

“But then of course Chelsea hijacked the deal late on in the window and that left Arsenal with a decision to make. They could have stuck with what they had, but they were going for the Premier League title and Arteta wanted more firepower.

“Arsenal always have backup options in the transfer market. That’s how Edu and Arteta operate. They have shown they can quickly shift targets before, such as when they went for Zinchenko after missing out on Lisandro Martinez and also when they landed Jorginho almost immediately after failing to sign Moises Caicedo.

“So when Chelsea signed Mudryk, they had to shift attention elsewhere and Leandro Trossard was a player they knew well and one they knew was available due to his situation with Brighton. It was a low risk signing and one Arsenal were happy to do. They knew they were getting a versatile, Premier League ready attacker who would fit in well to Arteta’s demands.

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“I wouldn’t say he was someone Arsenal always had at the top of their list, but he was a player who ticked a lot of Arsenal’s boxes and he’s proven to be an excellent addition.

“I don’t know if Arsenal are working on a new contract for him. It’s not something I’ve heard of just yet, but I know everyone at the club is very happy with him and what he has produced so far. He’s not even been at the club for 18 months yet, so there is no rush when it comes to Trossard. I can’t imagine he will be going anywhere any time soon.”

The post How quick-thinking Arsenal ended up with surprise better deal than Chelsea in the transfer market appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal reportedly really wanted to sign both Moises Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk before they ended up joining rivals Chelsea instead.

The Blues invested huge money on the pair, but it will now be Gunners fans feeling smug as neither player has lived up to expectations at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Arsenal missing out on Mudryk just over a year ago allowed them to move for Leandro Trossard as a cheap alternative, while they also signed Rice for slightly mess money than Chelsea paid for Caicedo a few months later.

Still, The Athletic claim this was not part of some grand plan or strategy at the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal really wanted both Caicedo and Mudryk, even if their alternative signings have ended up being so successful.

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Arsenal fans will be glad these deals didn’t work out in the end, but perhaps it’s also worth considering how much better these players might’ve been performing now if they’d ended up being coached by Mikel Arteta instead.

It’s not been the most stable period for Chelsea, who have made numerous signings and chopped and changed their manager a few times in the last few years.

Caicedo and Mudryk are some of the most high profile flops, but it’s also fair to say that other major investments like Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson aren’t really living up to their potential either.

It may be that Mauricio Pochettino can get the best out of them eventually, but for now Arsenal can be very satisfied with signings like Rice, Trossard and Jorginho for a fraction of the cost of some of these big-name CFC purchases.

Rice, of course, did not come cheap as he made the move from West Ham, but he certainly looks like far better value for money than either Caicedo or Fernandez, who cost Chelsea similar amounts.

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