Arsenal may ditch pursuit of £90m transfer target and search for in-house solutions: Reports

Arsenal could reportedly ditch their pursuit of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo if Albert Sambi Lokonga shines during his loan spell at Crystal Palace.

The Gunners wanted to sign the Ecuador international last month, but ended up signing Jorginho from Chelsea instead for a fee of £12 million. It was expected that Arsenal will reignite their pursuit of Caicedo once the season comes to a halt.

However, journalist Rudy Galetti has claimed that Sambi Lokonga's performances for the Eagles could force Arsenal to ditch their interest in the Brighton midfielder. The journalist told GiveMeSport (h/t HITC).

"In the summer, they could try again for Moises Caicedo, but [Mikel] Arteta wants to make a final decision only after evaluating the performance of [Albert] Sambi Lokonga, who is now on loan at Crystal Palace.

"So, it’s an option, but at the moment, nothing has been decided yet for Moises Caicedo in the summer."

Sambi Lokonga was signed by the Gunners in the summer of 2021 for a fee of £16 million. Since then, he has made just 39 appearances across competitions for the north London outfit.

Arsenal allowed him to join Palace on a six-month loan deal in the recently-concluded January transfer window. The 23-year-old claimed that manager Patrick Vieira's presence at Selhurst Park convinced him to switch allegiances temporarily.

The Gunners could have to fork out a fee of around 90 million if they want to sign Caicedo. Hence, it is understandable if they want to take their time and assess Sambi Lokonga's performance before making such a heavy investment.

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Mikel Arteta explains why Arsenal midfielder was allowed to join Crystal Palace on loan

Manager Mikel Arteta has cited the need for additional playing time as the major reason behind allowing Albert Sambi Lokonga to join Crystal Palace on loan.

The Belgian midfielder has played just 195 minutes of league football for Arsenal since the start of the season. Speaking after his loan move to Selhurst Park was confirmed, the Spanish tactician said (h/t Metro):

"Sambi needed time and games to develop the talent that he has and I think in Palace we’ve found the right club with the right coaching staff as well, so I believe that will work out."

He made his debut for Crystal Palace in a 2-1 Premier League defeat against Manchester United on 4 February when he came on in the 72nd minute of the game.