Arsenal have had a second bid for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz rejected, according to The Telegraph’s Jason Burt. The bid was reportedly around the £23 million mark, with Arsenal keen on the Brazilian following injuries to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny.
The 24-year-old scored directly from a corner against Arsenal during Aston Villa’s 2-1 loss at the Emirates on 31 August, and the club launched their opening bid shortly after.
Aston Villa Reject Second Arsenal Bid for Douglas Luiz
EXC: Aston Villa reject second bid from Arsenal for Douglas Luiz – worth £23m. Arsenal considering what to do now https://t.co/Ob0k66kY0T
— Jason Burt (@JBurtTelegraph) September 1, 2022
Time Running Out in the Window
With just a few hours remaining before the transfer deadline, Arsenal are running out of time to secure a player who would add key depth to their midfield. Aston Villa are taking the strong stance that Luiz will remain at Villa Park, meaning Arsenal may have to look elsewhere.
A move for heavily-linked Youri Tielemans has not materialised whilst any links to Danilo of Palmeiras have been quickly denied, with the Brazilian not likely to move before January.
Atletico Madrid and Liverpool have also expressed interest in Luiz, but the Brazilian is reportedly keen on a move to the Emirates, who already have Brazilians Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Marquinhos within their ranks.
Luiz has already agreed personal terms with Arsenal according to Fabrizio Romano, so it is now just a matter of agreeing a deal with Aston Villa.
Douglas Luiz, pushing to join Arsenal. He wants the move and official talks are ongoing on £20m fee — personal terms not an issue. 🚨⚪️🔴 #AFC #DeadlineDay
Aston Villa will also announce Dendoncker as new signing soon. pic.twitter.com/K2I2OTaWOX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 1, 2022
Midfield Injury Crisis
With Mohamed Elneny set to be out for a lengthy spell and Thomas Partey already injured with a reoccurrence of a previous injury, Arsenal may have been dealt another blow as captain Martin Odegaard departed the pitch against Aston Villa with what appeared to be an ankle injury.
If the Norweigan is also injured, then Arsenal would have a real crisis in midfield, and signing Luiz would go some way to alleviating the crisis.
Arsenal may return with yet another bid to land Luiz despite insistence that he is not for sale, as the necessity for an experienced body in midfield grows even more.
The Right Profile
With Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar previously stressing the importance of signing quality over quantity in the window, Douglas Luiz is seemingly an ideal fit for this young, high-flying Arsenal side.
The 24-year-old is already heavily experienced in the Premier League like summer signings Gabriel Jesus and Oleksander Zinchenko. As a Brazil international, Luiz would fit into a dressing room with several Portuguese speakers.
Arteta would be familiar with Luiz’s qualities, having been at Manchester City when Luiz originally signed for the club before being loaned out to Girona in 2017.
In desperate need of a rotational defensive midfielder, Luiz’s strong tackling and ball-carrying abilities should mean he is ready to adapt to Arsenal’s way of playing immediately and could come into the side straight away to play behind Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard.
Arsenal are now facing a race against time to complete the deal.
