Arsenal has not given up hope on Douglas Luiz transfer

Arsenal has not given up on potentially signing Douglas Luiz. The Gunners previously had three separate bids turned down by Aston Villa for the midfielder back in 2022. The highest bid that the Birmingham-based club rejected was around $30 million.

Nevertheless, 90 Min is claiming that Arsenal want to resurrect their pursuit of the player ahead of the January transfer period. Luiz has always been a highly-rated figure in the Premier League. The Brazilian was previously purchased by Manchester City back in 2017. While he was considered a prospect, Pep Guardiola ultimately sold the midfielder to Villa two years later.

Since arriving at the club, Luiz has gradually become one of the more impactful central midfielders in the league. The Brazilian previously focused his game more on the defensive aspects of his position. However, Luiz is now adding goals and assists to his repertoire to become a more complete player.

Villa hiring Unai Emery as head coach has certainly boosted Luiz’s play as well. The midfielder has recorded 10 top-flight goals since the Spaniard’s arrival a year ago. To put these statistics in perspective, the midfielder previously racked up six total Premier League goals in over three seasons before 2022.

Douglas Luiz would enter packed midfield at Arsenal

Arsenal looking to sign another midfielder is, however, quite interesting. The club currently has a plethora of options in the center of the pitch. This includes Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira, Kai Havertz, Emile Smith Rowe, Jorginho, and Mohamed Elneny. Nevertheless, the future of the team’s midfield may not be so set in stone.

Jorginho and Elneny are currently in their final season under contract at the club. Neither player looks certain to agree to extensions for another season either. Partey and Smith Rowe’s futures are not exactly firm either. The Ghana international has one more year remaining on his contract and Smith Rowe has failed to receive ample playing time.

Arsenal’s pursuit of Luiz in January could very well be to get ahead of the possible midfield shuffle come summertime. On paper, the Villa midfielder would give the Gunners something a little different. Outside of Rice, the club does not currently have a midfielder that can be stellar defensively but also provides goals as well.

Center forward likely to be top transfer priority for Arsenal

Along with Luiz, Arsenal also needs to focus on signing a new center forward in January. Eddie Nketiah is perhaps not providing enough goals for a club such as Arsenal. Brentford’s Ivan Toney and fellow Villa forward Ollie Watkins have both been linked with the Gunners in recent weeks.

The north London outfit seemingly needs to add another proven goalscorer if they want to challenge for the Premier League title. This makes the center forward position a bigger need than another midfielder at the moment. Nevertheless, Arsenal’s brass has shown that they are not afraid to splash the cash in recent years.

Villa, however, looks set to battle to keep their stars in the current team. The club is off to a flying start so far this season and has won six of their first nine league matches. Emery has the team sitting fifth in the top-flight table and will hope to challenge for a potential Champions League spot with his current roster.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Sportimage.