By Betsefy
Arsenal have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz on deadline day for £30m.
The 24-year-old’s long-term future at Villa Park is believed to be uncertain, as he has less than 12 months remaining on his contract and has allegedly turned down an offer to extend his deal.
The Gunners have spent close to £120m on five signings so far this summer, with Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner and Marquinhos all arriving at the Emirates Stadium.
However, head coach Mikel Arteta remains in the market and has revealed that the club are exploring the possibility of recruiting a new midfielder, as both Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny are sidelined with injuries.
Speaking to reporters after Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Wednesday, Arteta said: “Obviously [Elneny’s injury] has an impact because Thomas Partey is injured and we are a bit short in that position. We do have Albert Sambi Lokonga and Granit Xhaka who can play there.
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“We are just looking at options in the market. As I said, the club has been super supportive to try to keep improving the squad and the team as we can, and if the right player is available and we can do it, we will try.”
Arteta added: “We were pretty protected in [the midfield] position and now we are more exposed, but we have to be prepared for uncertainties, injuries and suspensions. Things like that can happen, especially this season it’s going to be really strange with the World Cup. So, we try to prevent things but sometimes it is not easy.”
According to Football Insider, Arsenal have been presented with the chance to sign 24-year-old Luiz from Aston Villa late in the window for £30m.
The report adds that the Brazil international is keen to move to North London, although the Gunners could face competition from the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Juventus for his signature.
A separate report claims that Liverpool have submitted a £20m offer to sign Luiz, who scored from a corner against Arsenal in Villa’s midweek defeat at the Emirates.
Villa manager Steven Gerrard has refused to rule out the prospect of Luiz leaving the club before the 11pm deadline on Thursday.
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When asked by reporters after their loss on Wednesday whether the midfielder will remain at Villa Park beyond the summer window, Gerrard said: “I’m not in control of that. There are more than two people in control of that but I’m certainly not one of them.
“That will be Douglas, that will be his agent’s decision as to what happens around that. I’d like to keep him because he’s a fantastic player. I’ve made that abundantly clear.
“We are 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 have to do what is best for the club and not necessarily what’s best for me.”
Since joining Villa from Manchester City in the summer of 2019, Luiz has made a total of 115 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring six goals and providing eight assists.
The Rio de Janeiro-born midfielder has only started one of Villa’s opening four Premier League matches and he now faces competition from summer arrival Boubacar Kamara for a regular place in Gerrard’s starting lineup.
As well as Luiz, Arsenal have also been linked with Leicester City‘s Youri Tielemans, Palmeiras‘ Danilo and Celtic‘s Matt O’Riley.
