Arsenal find their own Mudryk in Mitoma but Caicedo may ruin transfer

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reviews Everton game

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Arsenal may have found their backup plan to Mykhaylo Mudryk after their January attempts to sign the Ukrainian winger were hijacked by Chelsea. The Gunners were trying to complete a deal for the 22-year-old and witnessed several public pleas by the player to move to the Emirates, but Graham Potter’s outfit swooped in and sealed an £88.5million transfer to take him to Stamford Bridge instead.

Arsenal then moved for Leandro Trossard from Brighton for an initial £20m, though returned to the Seagulls late in the window and attempted to sign midfielder Moises Caicedo. The Gunners had three bids rejected for the Ecuadorian who tried to force through a move to north London, but Roberto De Zerbi’s side held firm and rejected their advances.

However, Mikel Arteta’s side could look to Brighton once again in the summer – but instead for Kaoru Mitoma. 90min have claimed that Arsenal are interested in the Japanese sensation, though they may have to fork out more than £35m if they wish to sign him in the summer.

Brighton may not be too keen to re-enter negotiations with Arsenal once again though, as their relationship became strained as the Seagulls felt that the Gunners kept making derogatory bids for Caicedo despite his club telling Arsenal to “back off” and he was not for sale.

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The process has “soured” Brighton’s respect for Arsenal according to The Athletic, and may have affected their future dealings as the Gunners have now dropped down the pecking order of clubs that Brighton feel comfortable negotiating with.

That could mean that Arsenal are forced to pay significantly over the odds should they wish to bring Mitoma to north London, or they are completely ignored by Brighton and are turned down once again. Arsenal are expected to return for Caicedo in the summer in addition to West Ham captain Declan Rice, as the Premier League leaders are keen to bolster their midfield options further despite signing Jorginho on deadline day from Chelsea.

Mitoma has flourished in recent weeks since returning from the World Cup, having scored in each of Brighton’s last three league games and has five strikes in seven appearances. Despite quickly becoming one of De Zerbi’s stand-out players, the Italian believes that there is more to come from Mitoma though has recently praised his ability to score goals.

“Mitoma is an individual player,” De Zerbi said after Brighton’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth. “I would like him to improve playing with team-mates inside of the pitch, on ball possession, but he’s a fantastic player.

“For Mitoma, he didn’t play the best game of his life but Mitoma can always score. I can never substitute him because I felt during the game he could score.”

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