Arsenal are ready to make a club record third bid for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.

The London Evening Standard says the Gunners had a second offer worth £70million for Caicedo rejected by Brighton, who continue to insist that the Ecuador international is not for sale.

But Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi said yesterday that his team was “ready to go forward" without Caicedo and as of Monday morning Arsenal had not walked away from talks.

A fresh offer for Caicedo would likely exceed the club-record £72m they paid to sign winger Nicolas Pepe in 2019.

Arsenal want to sign a new midfielder this month to bolster their title charge. Mikel Arteta's side are five points clear at the top of the Premier League and have a game in hand on Manchester City in second.

A bid closer to £80m could test Brighton's resolve after Caicedo posted on social media on Friday that he wanted to leave.