Arsenal decide stance on third Caicedo transfer bid after £70m offer

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Arsenal are prepared to walk away from their pursuit of Moises Caicedo after Brighton knocked back a second bid for the Ecuador international, according to reports. The Gunners made a fresh £70million offer for the midfielder on Sunday but it was swiftly rejected. 

Mikel Arteta is desperate to sign a midfielder before Tuesday’s transfer deadline. Caicedo is the north Londoners’ top target and has asked to leave the Seagulls. 

A £60m proposal was put forward midway through last week, following a failed £55m offer by Chelsea. However, Arsenal were knocked back and have now had a £70m bid knocked back in a further blow. 

Mohamed Elneny’s injury makes the demand for a new midfielder all the more necessary. Arteta has very few options outside of his usual trio of Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and club captain Martin Odegaard. 

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According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal could now walk away from their interest in Caicedo to focus on other targets. At the moment, it seems unlikely that they will make a third bid for the combative midfielder. 

Caicedo has been asked to stay away from Brighton’s training ground until Wednesday and was left out of the squad for their FA Cup win over Liverpool on Sunday. After the game, head coach Roberto De Zerbi appeared to give Arsenal hope that they might be able to complete a deal. 

The Italian said Brighton were ‘prepared’ to move on without Caicedo despite them wanting to keep him until the end of the campaign. He said: “I would like that he can finish the season with us but we are ready to go forward without him.

“I can understand him because when you are 21, and you receive the request of a big, big team that are playing in Europe. I can understand… Caicedo is a very, very good guy.

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“I was surprised (by his statement) but I can understand where it started. I don’t know if you understand, but Moises is a good guy.”

Brighton have sold several players for big money in recent transfer windows, including defender Ben White and Leandro Trossard to Arsenal for a combined fee close to £80m. The Seagulls are therefore in a healthy financial position and can demand whatever they want for Caicedo. 

The south coast outfit signed Caicedo from Ecuadorian outfit Independiente del Valle for a mere £3.5m in 2021. He attracted interest from Manchester United and Liverpool in the summer, with Arsenal and Chelsea leading the race in January. 

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