Moises Caicedo can come back to haunt Arsenal as Chelsea made to rue Declan Rice transfer failure

It is funny how things work out. Both Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo could have lined up on different sides of the divide this Sunday. Both clubs were keen on the two players for some time and the Ecuador international even tried to force a move to North London.

Chelsea were always keen on Rice. Several managers wanted to bring back the player that the Blues rejected as a teenager after he flourished with West Ham United.

There is a chance Rice misses the weekend game after suffering a reported broken toe. Mikel Arteta was non-committal in his assessment of the England international’s status who has been called up by Lee Carsley for this month’s matches.

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“I have to be very vague on that one because there’s no clarity on whether he’s going to be fit for the weekend,” he said.

Adding when asked about the reports of a broken toe: “That's for the doctor, what I can say is that he hasn't trained yet and it is not clear whether he’s going to be available or not to play.”

Yet rewind to 2023 and the January window was one of Arsenal’s most active. The club ended up spending around £60million on three players: Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard and Jorginho.

However, they bid more than all three combined to try and land Caicedo in the winter market. A top bid of £70million would be turned down which eventually led to the club giving up on the move.

However, the process saw Caicedo try to force a switch to the Gunners as he released a statement following the move by the club. Posting to social media, Caicedo responded to Arsenal’s offer effectively asking to be allowed to leave for what would have been a record fee.

"I am grateful to Mr. Bloom and Brighton for giving me the chance to come to the Premier League and I feel I have always done my best for them. I always play football with a smile and with heart.

"I am the youngest of 10 siblings from a poor upbringing in Santa Domingo in Ecuador. My dream always to be the most decorated player in the history of Ecuador. I am proud to be able to bring in a record transfer fee for Brighton which would allow them to reinvest it and help the club continue to be successful.

"The fans have taken me into their hearts and they will always be in my heart so I hope they can understand why I want to take up this magnificent opportunity."

Bloom held firm though, Caicedo was left out of the side for a period of time before then making a move to Chelsea in the summer for a £115million fee. Despite claims and later conversations that Chelsea were a preference, Arsenal’s position compared to the Blues and the prospect of working with Mikel Arteta was massively attractive to Caicedo.

Yet it was Rice who was always the primary candidate. The Caicedo move would not have stopped Arsenal in negotiating for Rice, although it could have had some restrictions on competing with Manchester City for his signature in the summer.

Arsenal were always keen on both players, despite Rice being higher up the list but not available in the 2023 January window at the time, not willing to push like Caicedo was. Patience would reward the Gunners in the end.

Chelsea too were keen on Rice. These quotes from Lampard are enough to show just how much the West London side wanted to bring him back to the club.

"When I was at Chelsea before, I wanted to bring in Declan Rice. I said he would be the captain of Chelsea for the next 10 years.

“It didn't happen, but it's hard for me to dissect other people's work between when I left the club and came back. I came into what I came into, and it would be a little bit casual for me to say what they should've done differently."

Rice has earned more accolades and team of the year inclusions since the move, of course. Ranking 26th in the latest Ballon d’Or list, Caicedo was left off.

The pair could meet this weekend, a year on from Rice’s stunning long-range strike to start the comeback after a surprise and controversial two-goal lead from the Blues. Who will come out on top, remains to be seen.