'What are Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City doing?' – Gunners legend begs Mikel Arteta to sign '£120m' Brighton double act

Mac Allister, 23, was excellent for Argentina during their World Cup triumph in Qatar, while Caicedo impressed for Ecuador during the group stages.

The South American pair have formed a formidable midfield partnership in the Premier League for Brighton this season and have attracted interest from the giants of the game.

Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle Tottenham, Inter, Juventus and Atletico are all said to be interested in Mac Allister, while Caicedo, 21, is reportedly being tracked by Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Mac Allister signed for Brighton from Argentinos Juniors in 2019 for around £7m and Caicedo joined in 2021 from Independiente del Valle for £4.5m. Both have since seen their profile and transfer value sky rocket and Albion would now hope to achieve north of £60m for each player.

The club however are under no pressure to sell but Petit, who won the Premier League title with Arsenal and the World Cup with France, insists the duo would be the perfect midfield combination for Mikel Arteta’s team.

“If we’re talking about midfielders for Arsenal, I know the links are there with Tielemans at Leicester, who I think is a good player but I’m not sure he is what Arsenal needs,” Petit said to Mega Casino, via Goal.com. “I’m a big fan of two players from Brighton: Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo. Mac Allister, I said this last season before he won the World Cup, he is a guy that does everything in the midfield. He sets the tempo, carries the ball. Technically, he is very good. He scores goals.

“The guy that sits next to him at Brighton, Caicedo, he is excellent. If Arsenal could take both of those players, two guys who know each other, they would fit perfectly at the club. They would do everything that Arteta wants in midfield. Both of them are young and could form a partnership for years.

"Mac Allister has just won the World Cup. He won the Copa America last year. In terms of his experience and maturity, he played almost every single game at the World Cup and he played really well. He is at Brighton! What are Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City doing? Come on! He plays brilliant football.”