After coming so close to their first Premier League title since 2003/04, Arsenal need to strengthen this summer in an effort to close the gap to this season's champions and treble winners, Manchester City.
A main area of address comes in the centre of midfield, especially as former captain Grant Xhaka remains set to depart the club this summer.
Over the past month or so as a result, a number of transfer targets have been rumoured, from Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi to Southampton's Roméo Lavia but two names in particular seem to be the strongest links.
Those of course are West Ham captain Declan Rice and young Brighton star Moises Caicedo. Both are likely to cost the club a hefty fee this summer given their importance to their current sides and as such, with other improvements also wanted by manager Mikel Arteta in his playing squad, it's likely only one could be picked this summer.
In this breakdown, we look at both Rice and Caicedo's strengths and weaknesses and determine if the Gunners were right to go all in on the West Ham midfielder over Caicedo, with the latter also linked with a move to Chelsea.
MORE: Declan Rice transfer fee: What does Arsenal target cost and how much is he worth?
Should Arsenal sign Rice or Caicedo?
As of the 2022/23 Premier League season finishing, Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo stand out as two of the best central midfielders on the market.
With both touted to be valued at close to £100million by their respective sides, West Ham and Brighton, it would seem that Arsenal have put the signing of Rice as their priority this summer.
So what do Arsenal need?
Well, the Gunners definitely need a replacement for Granit Xhaka who is set to depart for German side Bayer Leverkusen, whilst the latest reports suggest that the club are also keen to offload Thomas Partey.
That means that Arteta will likely need both a No. 6 and No. 8 this summer, positions which both Rice and Caicedo are capable of covering but excel in different ways.
Breaking the lines
Let's start with passing range and progression, a very key component that a midfielder under Arteta needs to have.
This campaign in the Premier League, Caicedo just edges out Rice on pass accuracy (88.77% to 87.05%), whilst he also completed more successful passes overall with 1961, over a hundred more then Rice. That volume comes from Brighton's footballing style as opposed to West Ham however.
In each department, Caicedo ranks as a highly qualified passer of the ball. His passing percentage at short (92.5%), medium (90.5%) and long (79.2%) distances all highlighted him as one of the best passing midfielders in the Premier League last season.
The need for Arsenal's new midfielder to break the lines from deep is crucial but it's not just through passing that Rice manages that in particular.
With 315 progressive carries in the Premier League this season, only six players logged more than the West Ham midfielder with only one of those not being a centre-back. Caicedo for reference had 179 which only goes to highlight Rice's phenomenal ball carrying abilities.
Rice also holds the ability to run past players with ease, completing 40 successful dribbles domestically last term, a figure higher than players like Son Heung-min, Kevin De Bruyne and Jadon Sancho.
Defensive output
This is the area where Arsenal's all-in pursuit of Rice perhaps makes the most sense.
To start with, across the Premier League this season, no player made more interceptions (67) or won possession back for their side (334) more often than the West Ham captain.
That scratches the surface in terms of how big of an improvement Rice could prove to be for the Gunners if a move materialises this summer though.
When directly compared to Thomas Partey — who played that position the most for Arsenal — on a per 90 basis in the league last season, Rice's strengths are highlighted. He wins out for interceptions, times winning possession, clearances, blocks and duel success rate by a decent margin.
Rice also beats out Caicedo in nearly all the above departments but where the Ecuadorian bites back is with his tough tackling nature.
Completing 50 successful tackles this season, only four players in the entire Premier League managed more, whilst Rice finished way down the list with 38.
Caicedo also gets through the defensive work in midfield, ranking second behind Rice for interceptions in the league this season and his defensive awareness is phenomenal for someone of his age. He constantly recognises where the defensive gaps are and is adept at covering for his full-backs whenever they push forward.
He even had a spell at right back this campaign which included a man-of-the-match display against Manchester United.
Rice vs. Caicedo stats last season
Here's a full break down of their stats from their 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
| Declan Rice | Stat | Moises Caicedo |
| 6 | Goal contributions | 2 |
| 37 | Chances created | 43 |
| 83 | Passes played into box | 64 |
| 40 | Successful dribbles | 29 |
| 88.05% | Pass accuracy | 88.77% |
| 167 | Duels won | 220 |
| 38 | Successful tackles | 50 |
| 15 | Blocks | 7 |
| 63 | Interceptions | 56 |
| 334 | Possession won | 248 |
Are Arsenal right to value a move for Rice over Caicedo this summer?
As of now in mid June, it seems like Arsenal have truly put all of their focus into signing Rice this summer instead of Caicedo.
In truth, that feels like a good move if a deal can be struck for the English international, though Bayern Munich and Manchester City apparently still lurk with the latter likely to submit a bid in the near future.
Overall, whilst Caicedo is a fantastic talent and a player who will go on to become one of the best midfielders of his generation, Rice just edges out the young Ecuadorian midfielder in certain areas at this moment in time.
He holds more experience for a start and most fans would agree that he can play both midfielder roles collectively to a higher degree. He can also cover at centre-back if the Gunners are really desperate which Caicedo can't do.
His presence in the centre of the park is unrivalled whilst his all-round ability to do everything from travelling with the ball in his possession to his elite defensive position highlight him as arguably one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League right now across the board.
Arsenal 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
MORE: Watch every Premier League match in Canada on Fubo
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, TNT Sports | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo |
Fubo, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).