Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is already looking ahead to the summer transfer window with a view to improving his first-team squad.

Marco Asensio has already been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, and now the Gunners boss is eyeing up a potential swoop for Manuel Locatelli, with the Italian midfielder currently playing at Juventus this term after joining on loan from fellow Serie A club Sassuolo.

That’s according to Calciomercato (via Caught Offside), who claim that both Arsenal and Newcastle United are keen on signing him during the summer transfer window, with Arteta still clearly coveting a midfielder who could become a long-term option at the club as 31-year-old January signing Jorginho is evidently a stop-gap.

Edu Gaspar’s priority last month was to secure a deal for Moises Caicedo, with the young Ecuadorian a main target for Arsenal and a player who could feature in the first-team over the next few years, but the Gunners had a £70m bid for the Brighton star rejected on deadline day.

Locatelli could not only be a dream alternative to Caicedo, but he may also cost a significant amount less than the 21-year-old, with the CIES Football Observatory valuing him at €40m (£36m).

Indeed, the two midfielders are very similar statistically. FBref ranks Caicedo as the third-most comparable player to Locatelli, and with the youngster embarking on a meteoric rise as of late while catching the eye of some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, it certainly isn’t a bad comparison to have.

This season, the two players have registered similar returns across a range of performance metrics, including total shots (14 each), goal-creating actions (five to three, Locatelli first), tackles won (19 to 26), tackle success rate (76.2% to 74.2%) and pass success rate (81.5% to 87.8%), proving that they can both excel across numerous areas of the pitch.

Neither Locatelli nor Caicedo have any significant weakness according to WhoScored, while they can both claim aerial duels as one of their key strengths.

Talent scout Jacek Kulig once described the Italian as a “real dominator in midfield”, and the 25-year-old could be another excellent option for Arteta to call upon while being just as proficient as Caicedo in the middle of the park.

If the 40-year-old can lead the Gunners to Premier League glory this season, it may well be easier to lure such talents from the continent to the club. In Locatelli, Arsenal could land a more viable alternative to the in-demand Brighton midfielder, while saving a good chunk of their transfer budget in the process.