Chelsea set to sign player Arsenal had identified as 'future Patrick Vieira'

Arsenal have enjoyed a superb summer on the transfer front, making three high-profile signings.

Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice have all bolstered the Gunners ranks in recent weeks.

Arsenal will be hoping that Rice in particular can emulate Patrick Vieira’s heroics in the Gunners midfield.

Interestingly, a former Gunners target likened to the iconic Vieira is now on the verge of joining Chelsea.

Last year, L’Equipe reported that Arsenal were keeping tabs on Rennes midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu.

At the time, Arsenal were apparently really keen on the youngster and viewed him as a ‘future Patrick Vieira’.

Indeed, Ugochukwu himself said he viewed the former Arsenal captain as an “inspiration”.

“It’s an advantage being tall and powerful,” he told The Athletic.

“People like Vieira inspire me a lot because of what he did for Arsenal.

“It’s something that I want to do during my career.

“To live like that and for people to say, ‘Lesley was that kind of player’.”

All in all, he sounds like a perfect shout for Arsenal. However, he’s set for West London instead.

On Saturday, Fabrizio Romano took to Twitter to declare “here we go” on Ugochukwu to Chelsea.

The Blues would be signing him on a long-term contract for around £24million, added the Italian.

Our view

You have to wonder why Arsenal didn’t push harder for Ugochukwu.

He’s a young and incredibly talented midfielder with a high ceiling and his whole career ahead of him.

Ugochukwu has also been compared to Vieira and has deemed him an inspiration for what he did at N5.

And for just £24million, Arsenal could’ve certainly afforded him on top of their other signings.

The Gunners’ loss is Chelsea’s gain in this case.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come back to haunt the North Londoners further in derbies between the two sides.