Mikel Arteta finally reveals what Moises Caicedo said to him after he was found embracing the player at full time against Chelsea in the weekend

ARTETA SPOTTED EMBRACING CHELSEA PLAYER ARSENAL WANTED TO SIGN

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been spotted embracing Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo after Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Mikel Arteta and Moises Caicedo laughed together months after Arsenal missed out on signing the midfielder.

Arsenal headed to West London on Saturday evening and fell 2-0 down before a rousing fightback.

Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard dragged Arsenal back into the game, securing a 2-2 at Stamford Bridge.

This wasn’t an ideal Arsenal display, but they turned a defeat into a point – the sign of a strong and potentially successful team.

Mikel Arteta spotted hugging Moises Caicedo

Arsenal had to go up against Moises Caicedo on Saturday as we head towards a year since the Gunners moved for him.

In January of this year, Arsenal failed with a £60million bid to sign Caicedo as Brighton refused to sell.

A £70million offer was rejected too, and Brighton’s stance paid off as they ended up selling Caicedo for a staggering £115million to Chelsea.

Some wondered whether Arsenal would return for Caicedo in the summer, but they focused on signing Declan Rice instead.

Arsenal boss Arteta still admires Caicedo though, and the pair shared a moment after the full-time whistle on Saturday.

Arteta hugged Caicedo as the pair laughed together, no doubt joking about the January bid from Arsenal and his battles with the Gunners midfield on Saturday.

My view: Arsenal loving Declan Rice despite Caicedo miss

Clearly, Arteta still likes Caicedo as a player, but he will surely be happy with how things played out over the summer.

Arsenal managed to sign Rice instead, and he has been outstanding in Arteta’s engine room.

Rice is impacting the game at both ends, proving to be a fine defensive midfielder who can also play well further forward, as we saw with his goal against Chelsea.

Pundit Paul Merson even suggested that Rice completely changed Arsenal’s display in the second half.

Landing both Rice and Caicedo just wasn’t possible and it’s hard to imagine that many Arsenal fans would swap Rice for Caicedo right now.

Everyone involved is likely happy with how the situation played out.

Brighton got big money, Caicedo landed his big move, and Arsenal signed one of the top midfielders in Europe.

Arteta understandably still likes Caicedo’s game but will love what he has seen from Rice this season.