Arsenal interested in Brazilian wonderkid pair - but missed out on signing Chelsea star in the summer

In today’s Arsenal transfer news, we’ll be looking at the reported ‘original plans’ that Mikel Arteta had for the 2023 summer transfer window. Had things gone the way the Gunners wanted, the Premier League landscape may have looked very different.

Alongside this, Arsenal have also been linked with a pair of Brazilian prodigies - but they aren’t the only ones. Should they make a move for either of them, they will face competition from rival clubs in the Premier League.

Gunners originally wanted to sign Moises Caicedo alongside Declan Rice

According to journalist Kaya Kaynak, Arsenal’s original plan for the 2023 summer transfer window was to sign Moises Caicedo for a fee of ‘£70/75 million’ - he would have been a regular starter for the club alongside Declan Rice. However, following Chelsea’s mammoth offer of £115 million for the Ecuadorian, the Gunners were forced to alter their approach.

Speaking on The Arsenal Way Podcast, Kaynak said: “That was the plan. In January they thought they could get Caicedo for £70/75 million. But Caicedo signed a new contract which made things more complicated. Plans change, Arsenal shifted to Jorginho and once they had Jorginho, [Thomas] Partey, [Mohamed] Elneny and wanted [Declan] Rice as well, it was unlikely that they were going to get both Caicedo and Rice. The plan was that in January, but that changed,”

Arsenal interested in Gabriel Moscardo and Pablo Maia

The Gunners have been linked with a move for a duo of young Brazilian talents recently - they are thought to be looking at Sao Paulo’s Pablo Maia and Corinthians’ Gabriel Moscardo [via 90min].

They aren’t the only interested party, however. Chelsea are thought to be interested in a move for Moscardo, while Maia has also linked with Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Fulham previously.

Arsenal have had considerable success in the past with Brazilians - perhaps the most notable example of this is Gabriel Martinelli, who has scored 27 Premier League goals for the Gunners since he joined the club from Ituano back in 2019.