Two years ago, Moises Caicedo pushed heavily to secure a £70million move to Arsenal – now he’s plotting their downfall with Chelsea. The Ecuador international, who later secured a British-record £115m transfer to Stamford Bridge after Brighton refused to budge, is confident that Enzo Maresca‘s Blues can still overtake the Gunners in the Premier League standings as he seeks to make amends for last season’s humiliating 5-0 defeat at the Emirates.
When asked if Chelsea could still catch Mikel Arteta‘s struggling title contenders, Caicedo said: “Yes, it’s possible for sure and that’s what we want. We are working hard for that, that’s it.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game but we want to play well and we’re going to go for it because we want to play in the Champions League.”
The 23-year-old currently has nine top-flight yellow cards to his name, meaning Caicedo is just one caution away from an additional two-game suspension if he is booked in one of Chelsea‘s next four league matches. Despite this, he is eager to face off against Declan Rice, another big-money summer signing in 2023, in midfield and won’t change his aggressive style just because he’s on thin ice discipline-wise.
Asked about Rice, Caicedo continued: “He’s a great player, everyone knows him and for sure, I’m going to do my best. I know I have too many yellow cards but it doesn’t matter, in the middle of the pitch you always have to fight.
“I’m going to fight for my team and for the badge. It doesn’t matter about the cards, I’m just focused on playing football and helping my team. I want to make tackles and I’m still going to do it.”
Caicedo has put last season’s disastrous performance at Arsenal firmly behind him, with the club now under new management with Maresca.
Before the humiliating five-goal defeat last April, Mauricio Pochettino had challenged Chelsea to prove they were not just Cole Palmer FC. They failed to rise to the challenge, and arguably, Pochettino’s words still hold true as Palmer has now gone 10 matches in all competitions, or 13-and-a-half hours of football, without scoring a goal or providing an assist.
However, Caicedo insists that Palmer’s form is not a concern for Chelsea: “I don’t think about that game anymore, I’m just looking forward. Now there is a new manager, it’s going to be a new game and Cole knows we trust him.
“Everyone knows Cole Palmer is a great player for us, he’s helped us a lot, we are still happy with him and we’ll support him in any way we can.
“Every manager is different, this manager wants to play from the goalkeeper which is good. It was good with Pochettino too but now we are in a good position, the team is together if we lose, draw or win, the morale is good and that’s the important thing.”
