Arsenal would be foolish to not make a move for Moises Caicedo before Thursday's transfer deadline...

What's the word?

The Brighton and Hove Albion powerhouse has been linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium in recent weeks and Express journalist Ryan Taylor has urged the Gunners to make a swoop.

"I think they’d be silly not to because of the high level of his performances in such a short space of time since making his debut," he told GIVEMESPORT.

"I think one of his first games was away at Tottenham last year and that was only at the back-end of last season. Then he destroyed Manchester United in that 4-0 win, scoring, and the same happened on the opening day of the season."

He cost the Seagulls just £4.5m during the winter transfer window's deadline day and he is now thought to be worth in the region of €20m (£17m), as per CIES Football Observatory, who assess the transfer value of professional footballers on a scientific basis.

Shades of Vieira

The north London giants once had an aggressive and hugely competitive box-to-box midfielder by the name of Patrick Vieira. He captained the side for three years and became a legend, not just at Arsenal but in the Premier League overall, too.

Now the club could find a player very much in that mould with Caicedo.

The 20-year-old gem has set the league alight with his form for Brighton.

From just eight outings in 2021/22, Caicedo ranked as Graham Potter's best-performing player with an average WhoScored rating of 7.07. He won tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game and contributed further up the pitch with 1.3 shots and 0.9 dribbles per game.

It's perhaps no surprise to have seen him likened to N'Golo Kante, who only last week Vieira namedropped when asked about players similar to him.

"He is a terrific athlete who makes football look easy. A box-to-box midfielder," claimed South American football expert Tim Vickery to talkSPORT. "A year ago he was saying that Kante of Chelsea is his role model but he is already more than that. He already offers more in the final third.

"That kind of box-to-box midfielder that’s very much in the tradition of the England game. Strong, quick, intelligent and cool. He really does look like the genuine article."

Based on that endorsement alone, Caicedo could really become a Vieira-like beast in the Premier League over the next few years, so Gunners technical director Edu Gaspar must ensure it's in the red and white colours of Islington, rather than the blue and white tones from the south coast.

Ecuadorian football historian and statistician Enrico Castro-Montes has added further weight to that comparison, claiming that the Ecuador international was "a cross between Kante and Pogba."

In his own country, he is really seen as the crown jewel of a new generation," he told Het Niuewsblad (via Sport Witness).

“Caicedo really has everything to become the best Ecuadorian footballer of all time. I think that off the ball, he is indeed somewhat reminiscent of Kante, but on the ball, he resembles Paul Pogba with his flair and his technique."

With nearly less than 48 hours to go in the transfer window, Edu and co must look to lure Caicedo to the Emirates as he could well discover Arsenal's next Vieira in the 20-year-old, who was also lauded as a "machine" by talent scout Jacek Kulig.

He'd be an extraordinary signing to end a busy and exciting summer of business for the Gunners.

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