Arsenal forced to shed midfield weight so Arteta can perfectly execute damaging midfield raid
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Arsenal will reportedly keep an eye on Douglas Luiz ahead of the summer, as Aston Villa don’t want to lose him in January, but the Gunners need to sell a midfielder first.
Luiz has been a target for a number of big-name Premier League sides for some time. Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal have all kept tabs on him at one time or another.
In fact, the Gunners made numerous attempts to sign him in 2022, but Villa wouldn’t budge.
As such, he stayed put at Villa Park, and has been a star for them since. During last season’s seventh-placed Premier League finish, the Brazilian midfielder scored six times and chipped in with a further six assists.
He’s almost beaten that tally of goals already this term, netting five times in nine games, as part of a stretch of scoring in six consecutive home Premier League games, a record for Villa.
Amid his top form, Arsenal are back again. A recent report stated Mikel Arteta’s side want to bring in a midfielder in January, and Luiz has been shortlisted.
It follows reports that one of Jorginho and Thomas Partey could soon leave the club.
The potential that the latter could leave has ramped up, with a report suggesting he’s ‘increasingly dissatisfied’ with his current minutes, despite having been hampered by injuries this season.
Arsenal continue spying Luiz
A report from Football Insider has poured cold water on a January move for Luiz. Indeed, it’s stated he’s ‘unlikely to be the subject of a January bid from Arsenal’ as Villa are ‘unwilling to lose him mid-season’.
That makes sense given how central he is to their current form and fifth-placed position, and the Gunners are seemingly aware there’s no point in trying to get him.
However, it’s said Arteta’s side are ‘likely to continue to keep tabs’ on Luiz ahead of the summer.
The Spanish manager could attempt to pull the trigger on the damaging raid then, when a sale may be more likely with Villa given more time to find a replacement, and at a time that wouldn’t knock their season off course.
Whether they’d sell at that point remains to be seen, particularly if they finish in as strong a position as they are now, as they are ‘under no pressure to sell’.
Arsenal must shed midfield weight
Arsenal reportedly need to shed some weight before they are to sign Luiz.
Indeed, the report states they’ll ‘need to raise funds through the sales of either Jorginho or Partey before launching a move’ for the Villa man.
While it could be that they find cash from elsewhere, it would make sense to let one or both of those men go, as Luiz will only push them down the pecking order upon arrival anyway.
If Partey is to leave, as is looking more likely, a move for Luiz could become much easier.
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