- Gunners linked with Foxes midfielder
- Also said to be keen on Argentine ace
- Could launch two swoops on Seagulls
WHAT HAPPENED? The Gunners are, ahead of the January transfer window, said to be in the market for midfield reinforcements. Belgium international Tielemans has seen a switch from Leicester to Emirates Stadium speculated on for some time, with rumours regarding a supposedly imminent deal beginning to resurface, but Petit believes there are two proven Premier League performers at Brighton – including a 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina – that would be better fits for Mikel Arteta’s system.
WHAT THEY SAID: Petit, who won the Premier League and FA Cup during his time in the Gunners’ engine room, has told Mega Casino of recruitment business heading into 2023: “If we’re talking about midfielders for Arsenal, I know the links are there with Tielemans at Leicester, who I think is a good player but I’m not sure he is what Arsenal needs. I’m a big fan of two players from Brighton: Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo. Mac Allister, I said this last season before he won the World Cup, he is a guy that does everything in the midfield. He sets the tempo, carries the ball. Technically, he is very good. He scores goals.
“The guy that sits next to him at Brighton, Caicedo, he is excellent. If Arsenal could take both of those players, two guys who know each other, they would fit perfectly at the club. They would do everything that Arteta wants in midfield. Both of them are young and could form a partnership for years. Mac Allister has just won the World Cup. He won the Copa America last year. In terms of his experience and maturity, he played almost every single game at the World Cup and he played really well. He is at Brighton! What are Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City doing? Come on! He plays brilliant football.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Mac Allister, who starred at Qatar 2022 alongside Lionel Messi, is another of those that is said to be registering on Arsenal’s radar heading into the winter window – with Arteta looking for midfielders that blend graft and guile.
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Arsenal will be back in competitive action on December 26 when playing host to West Ham in a London derby, with Arteta’s side currently perched five points clear of the chasing pack at the top of the Premier League table.