Arsenal reportedly really wanted to sign both Moises Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk before they ended up joining rivals Chelsea instead.
The Blues invested huge money on the pair, but it will now be Gunners fans feeling smug as neither player has lived up to expectations at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Arsenal missing out on Mudryk just over a year ago allowed them to move for Leandro Trossard as a cheap alternative, while they also signed Rice for slightly mess money than Chelsea paid for Caicedo a few months later.
Still, The Athletic claim this was not part of some grand plan or strategy at the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal really wanted both Caicedo and Mudryk, even if their alternative signings have ended up being so successful.
Arsenal fans will be glad these deals didn’t work out in the end, but perhaps it’s also worth considering how much better these players might’ve been performing now if they’d ended up being coached by Mikel Arteta instead.
It’s not been the most stable period for Chelsea, who have made numerous signings and chopped and changed their manager a few times in the last few years.
Caicedo and Mudryk are some of the most high profile flops, but it’s also fair to say that other major investments like Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson aren’t really living up to their potential either.
It may be that Mauricio Pochettino can get the best out of them eventually, but for now Arsenal can be very satisfied with signings like Rice, Trossard and Jorginho for a fraction of the cost of some of these big-name CFC purchases.
Rice, of course, did not come cheap as he made the move from West Ham, but he certainly looks like far better value for money than either Caicedo or Fernandez, who cost Chelsea similar amounts.