Arsenal's ideal Xhaka replacement revealed

21 Apr 2023 13:08 BST
3 min read

Mikel Arteta. Arsenal, 2021/22 — © ProShots

Arsenal have the luxury of having two of their big summer transfer priorities apparently clamouring to sign for them.

Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo have both been giving the Gunners the signal to make a move since the January transfer window, with the Ecuador international reiterating his desire to move to the Emirates thanks to an interview with The Telegraph in which he says he hopes they win the league.

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FootballTransfers understands that Arsenal will not be held to ransom over a transfer fee for either player and that they have other options in mind should negotiations break down, but in an ideal world, which player should they target?

Data analytics experts SciSports have taken a statistical look at both players and have come up with an answer.

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Caicedo or Rice for Arsenal?

Arsenal are looking for a player who can act as support or an upgrade to Granit Xhaka in the left centre midfield role, while they also need a player who can cover Thomas Partey given the Gunners struggle when he is not available.

One of Xhaka’s key roles at Arsenal is to occupy not just the central area but also be busy in the left half space, while he drifts as far out to the wing at times. Rice does not receive the ball in the final third or in the half space as much as Caicedo.

The two candidates are well matched in terms of their passing, but Caicedo does create more chance creation passes P90. Caicedo is cleaner is possession, but Rice is more of a ball carrier and can also progresses the ball more with his passing.

Defensively, Caicedo is better in terms of his positioning, but Rice typically recovers the ball better.

There is little between the two players and a final decision is likely to come down to what Mikel Arteta wants to prioritise for his Arsenal team going forward, but Caicedo is marginally the better fit.