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Douglas Luiz to Arsenal transfer opportunity emerges

By Daniel on March 25, 2024

Paul Robinson has just told Football Insider why Arsenal have a strong chance of landing Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa.

Villa reported a £119.6 million loss in its end-of-year finances. They may need to authorise player sales at the end of the season in order to balance their books and avoid point deductions.

And as Villa ponders their tricky situation, Arsenal on the other hand are expecting a busy summer transfer window. A move for a quality midfielder is on the cards, and Villa’s Douglas Luiz is one of the midfielders they are keen on, as per various reports.

The Gunners have constantly been linked with the Villa midfielder, even since 2022, when their three bids were rejected by Villa. Interestingly, while the links to a move to the Emirates Stadium continue to pop up, the Brazilian has enhanced his performances and is now one of the best midfielder’s in the league.

This season, it has become evident that he is more than simply a defensive midfielder; he is a box-to-box midfielder who is equally effective defensively as offensively (Lest we forget, he’s also a dead ball specialist).

So far for Villa this season, he has racked up an impressive 10 goals and assists in 42 games across all competitions.

Luiz to Arsenal

Paul Robinson has explained why the Gunners might be optimistic about signing Luiz. The ex-England international believes Villa have two issues that could force them to lose a good player like Luiz.

These two are failing to qualify for the Champions League (they are now fourth and facing competition from Spurs and Manchester United) and the necessity of selling players to balance their books.

Robinson told Football Insider’s the Inside Track podcast.

“Their books are worrying. From a Villa point of view, if they don’t get Champions League football, the likes of Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz could want to leave.

“I know for a fact that Arsenal are looking at Luiz.

“If Villa were in a situation where they had to balance the books, Ramsey and Luiz bring you £100million between them at least – there’s your books balanced.

“Fans won’t want to hear that though.”

If Douglas Luiz joined Arsenal, he would significantly improve Arteta’s engine room. And Robinson is right that fans should be worried about losing the South American this summer.

However, reports that Villa has slapped a £100 million plus price tag on his head may complicate the move. Arsenal cannot invest £100 million or more in a single player when they also need to bring in an attacker, defender and back-up goalkeeper [if Ramsdale leaves].