Arsenal’s Ambitious Double Deal: The £75m Midfielder They Nearly Nabbed with Declan Rice

Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, both of whom cost more than £150 million, joined Arsenal in the summer, and the club made significant investments to upgrade its midfield.

Since the signing of Rice, the Gunners’ midfield has appeared strong, but it must be acknowledged that Havertz hasn’t gotten off to a fast start next to him.

It’s interesting to note that the revamping of Arsenal’s midfield wasn’t always the plan.

Indeed, according to Kaya Kaynak on The Arsenal Way Podcast, the Gunners’ initial plan was to sign both Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo this season, but they were forced to change their course when they realized Caicedo wouldn’t be available for around £75m in January.

Along with Rice, Arsenal desired Caicedo.
What Kaynak knows about Arsenal’s previous transfer intentions was divulged.

That was the strategy. They believed they might acquire Caicedo for £70–75 million in January. However, Caicedo signed a new deal, which compounded matters. Plans can change, Arsenal switched their focus to Jorginho, and once they had Rice on their want list in addition to Jorginho, Partey, and Elneny, it seemed improbable that they would acquire both Caicedo and Rice. That was originally scheduled for January, but things changed,” said Kaynak.

Rice and Caicedo may have made a fantastic team.
It’s a big bad that Arsenal was unable to complete this double swoop because the thought of Rice and Caicedo teaming up for Arsenal is very tantalizing.

Both guys are incredibly good defensively, and they’re also fantastic at moving the ball.

They would have made a fantastic addition to Arsenal’s outstanding attacking quintet up front, but regrettably, we’ll never get to witness these two on the same Arsenal team.

One of the most intriguing “what if?” transfer stories from this era might be this one.