Arsenal Transfers: Gunners pushing to sign Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz

Arsenal have identified Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz as their priority midfield target on deadline day. 

The Brazilian midfielder was in action at the Emirates on Wednesday night in Villa’s 2-1 defeat to the 100% Gunners and he got on the scoresheet with an audacious effort from an inswinging corner.

However, I’m sure Luiz’s knack for scoring directly from set pieces isn’t the primary factor in Arsenal’s deadline day pursuit. Mikel Arteta wants to bring in another midfield option before the summer transfer window slams shut following injuries to Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey.

Arsenal pushing to sign Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz on deadline day

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1565271711624429568

According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are “really trying” to sign Villa’s Luiz on deadline day with the player said to be keen on the move.

However, he adds that this will a difficult deal for the Gunners to pull off with the Villans adamant that the 24-year-old is not for sale.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein writes that Arsenal are preparing an offer for the Brazilian, who has just a year left on his Villa deal. He’s believed to be valued in the region of £20m.

Steven Gerrard, meanwhile, admitted he wasn’t sure whether he’d still have Luiz around at Villa Park beyond Thursday’s deadline. After his side’s defeat at the Emirates, he said: “I’m not in control of that [Luiz’s future]. That will be Douglas, his agent and what happens around that.

“I’d like to keep him, he’s a fantastic player. I’ve made that abundantly clear.

“We’re not in a position where we need to lose our top players but at the same time Douglas has got a year to go and it is one of those really touchy situations where the club has to do what is best for the club, even if it is not necessarily best for me,” he added.

While Luiz is a young Brazilian international with Premier League experience, this move certainly isn’t optimal for Arsenal, who should’ve been more proactive in their pursuit of a midfielder earlier in the window. However, the Villa man is far from a bad footballer and he’s someone who should be able to provide reliable depth in midfield, which is exactly what the club needs.