Arsenal struck gold with a £27 million signing who is now worth more than Caicedo.
The tenacious Gooner is finally receiving the recognition he deserves.
Crisis? What crisis? Just a month ago, the narrative surrounding Arsenal was harsh.
Mikel Arteta’s side had lost three games in a row – only two of which were in the Premier League – and had thus been effectively ruled out of any championship race discussions.
However, four consecutive victories, including a demolition of rival competitors Liverpool and a Premier League away triumph over West Ham United, have put the Gunners back in contention for domestic domination.
The North Londoners’ frontline has finally started scoring again, but there is another first-teamer who deserves just as much – if not more – credit, a man whose value has risen above Premier League record-breaker Moises Caicedo in recent months.
Arteta’s signing has reached premier status.The man in question has been one of the most significant players in Arteta’s squad over the last few years and has built one of the strongest defensive combinations in the country alongside William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães.
The Brazilian began his senior career with Florianopolis-based Avai Futebol Clube in 2016, before joining Ligue 1 club LOSC Lille a year later in 2017.
Once in France, the Sao Paulo-born titan spent a brief stint with the second team before going on loan to Troyes and Dinamo Zagreb between 2017 and 2018.
However, the 6 foot 3 defender would ultimately break into Les Dogues’ first squad in the 2018/19 season, appearing in 14 Ligue 1 games before making 24 the next season, helping the team finish second in the league.
Former Lille president Gerard Lopez described the young centre-back as a “real fighter” with a “immense physical presence” in 2020, and his impressive performances caught the attention of the Gunners that same year, and after a relatively simple negotiation, he was on his way to north London, with £27 million going the other way.