Ex-Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna believes his former club should prioritise a move for West Ham captain Declan Rice ahead of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.

The Gunners made two bids for Caicedo during the January transfer window, but Sagna feels that, after the Ecuadorian signed a contract extension, the club would be better off focusing their attention on Rice:

“The current Arsenal midfield is strong and consistent, so I don’t know if they need somebody else at the moment. We will see whether Arsenal can sign Declan Rice, but Caicedo has only just signed a new deal so it would be even more difficult for Arsenal to go out and spend more money.”

“To me, Declan has more of an impact for his team, he’s tall and has very good technical quality. He can also be effective defensively and offensively, so for me, you’d rather Arsenal tried to sign Declan Rice instead of Moises Caicedo.”

Brighton have been pretty firm with their stance on Caicedo, with CEO Paul Barber recently saying that they may only consider offers that are double the £70m fee that Arsenal reportedly offered for the player.

With that being the case, Sagna is probably right to urge the club to pursue Rice instead. Reports have suggested that West Ham may be prepared to sell the England international for between £75m and £85m this summer, although he may end up costing above £100m, especially if other teams (such as Chelsea and Manchester United) also make their own bids.

Whatever the price may be, though, it appears Sagna is keen for the Gunners to secure a deal for Rice.