With Arsenal being in desperate need of a midfielder, it was announced yesterday that the Gunners have launched a bid for one of the most highly-rated players in the Premier League: Moises Caicedo.

The talented Ecuadorian is a hybrid midfielder who can play both a defensive (DM) role and a central (CM) one as well, meaning he could compete with and cover for both Thomas Partey and Grant Xhaka.

The English top-flight leaders, as revealed by Fabrizio Romano, bid $74M (£60M) guaranteed for the South American but that offer was promptly rejected by Brighton, the player's current employers.

EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal have submitted £60m bid to sign Moises Caicedo as new midfielder #AFC

Chelsea had £55m verbal proposal rejected this January as Brighton hope to keep the player — but Arsenal are now pushing.

Negotiations enter into key stages for Caicedo's future. pic.twitter.com/WZp3RKRdbx

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 27, 2023

While reports initially claimed that Caicedo would be respectful towards his club and their desire to keep him until the end of the season, the Ecuadorian later went public with a transfer request, admitting to wanting to leave the Amex Stadium in a post on Instagram and Twitter.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Moisés Caicedo23 (@moises_caicedo55)

Fast forward to today and the latest update is that the midfielder won't be showing up for the Seagulls' Saturday training session nor will he feature in Sunday's exciting FA Cup showdown with Liverpool. In fact, the player will not appear in any training session until the transfer window closes.

However, it should be noted that the 21-year-old has not gone on strike in order to force a move. According to the Athletic, while the player was subject to interest from Chelsea, the Arsenal offer has reportedly turned his head and thus it was the club that decided to send the player home until February 1.

But is this great news for the North London giants? Sadly for them, the answer is no. The Premier League leaders are reportedly preparing a new bid but as revealed by Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports, the Seagulls' stance remains the same: Caicedo is not for sale.

Understand Brighton have also made it clear to Arsenal directly that Moises Caicedo is not for sale this window. https://t.co/wb47GPpcc0

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) January 28, 2023

Of course, a ridiculous offer could change that—it would for any club. However, Arsenal have shown a reluctance to pay over their valuation. This means that Edu and Co. have their work cut out for them if they are to pull off this deal in the next few days.

Mohamed Elneny is currently sidelined and might be out for the rest of the season while Thomas Partey picked up a suspected rib injury in the 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City, thus skyrocketing Arteta's need for a new midfielder. Caicedo is desperate to join but negotiating with Brighton is never easy.