Arsenal will beat Chelsea in the race to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo if both clubs table the same bid, according to Goal‘s Gunners correspondent Charles Watts.

Speaking on his Youtube channel, Watts claims the draw of playing in the Champions League would make a move to the Emirates a more attractive option for the player:

“If Arsenal & Chelsea are both in the mix & both put the same amount of money down, he’s going to want to go to Arsenal – they’re in the Champions League – but it just depends what Arsenal will do, obviously Rice is the priority.”

Reports over the past week would seem to suggest that Watts is right with regards to Caicedo’s preference but, as the journalist also says, a lot depends on the club’s transfer priorities.

West Ham captain Declan Rice appears to be Mikel Arteta’s number one target and, with the 24-year-old expected to cost in excess of £100m, will he then also sanction a move for another midfielder?

Caicedo is not exactly going to come cheap

Most reports suggest that Brighton will demand upwards of £80m for the Ecuadorian international so the big question is: will Arsenal spend the best part of £200m on two midfielders?

With the club also said to be keen on bringing in as many as three defenders, you do feel that a deal for Caicedo is quite far down the list of priorities at the moment.

The player is clearly keen on joining Arsenal

When the Gunners had two bids rejected by Brighton back in January, Caicedo took to social media in order to force through the transfer.

The ploy ended up being unsuccessful, and he ultimately signed a new contract with the Seagulls but, if Arsenal do come in with another offer this summer, he would clearly be up for the move.