Midfield was an area that Arsenal were keen to improve during the recent summer transfer window, with the Gunners heavily linked with a move for Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans and also had three deadline day bids for Douglas Luiz rejected by Aston Villa.
The North London club are expected to attempt to sign a player in this position again in January, however, there are no advanced negotiations at this current moment in time, with Fabrizio Romano saying: “As we know, they tried to sign Douglas Luiz on Deadline Day, but it didn’t work out.
“Highly-rated Palmeiras talent Danilo was also one of the players that Arsenal have tracked during the summer, but it was never close to being completed, as Palmeiras wanted more than £30 million for the 21-year-old.
“As for Douglas Luiz, the Aston Villa midfielder remains in the list but nothing has been decided yet for January. I expect a midfielder or a winger will be Arsenal’s main priorities, but it will depend on who’s available”
Arsenal Continue Their Search for a Midfielder
🚨 EXCLUSIVE 🚨
🇧🇷 Douglas Luiz remains on Arsenal's list for January, and they also considered signing Palmeiras midfielder Danilo in the summer, according to @FabrizioRomano
Full story 👇👇
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) October 5, 2022
A Midfielder the Priority for Arsenal
As Romano alluded to, signing a midfielder is a priority for the Gunners, and with good reason too.
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The resurgence of Granit Xhaka has helped their situation, however, Arsenal still lack quality and depth in the central midfield position. For as good as Thomas Partey has been for the club when he plays, the midfielder is injured far too often, and Mohamed Elneny, one of his replacements, is also currently sidelined. That leaves the sole option of Albert Sambi Lokonga, who, although promising, isn’t quite good enough just yet.
💫 The stage is set at Emirates Stadium pic.twitter.com/W4TuM01btj
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 6, 2022
Of course, they have the option of playing Martin Odegaard or Fabio Vieira in a deeper role, but that could lead to an imbalance in the side, with neither of those players being particularly defensive-minded. It is, therefore, no surprise that Arsenal appear to be weighing up their options in this area of the pitch ahead of a potential midfield signing in January.
A signing of this nature would drastically improve the Arsenal squad and would help Mikel Arteta’s side sustain their push for a top-four finish, and, if their current form continues, perhaps even a title challenge.
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