Arsenal expect to sign Danilo in January after missing out on Luiz

FT Desk

3 Sept 2022 11:14 BST
3 min read

Arsenal were unable to prise Douglas Luiz away from Aston Villa in the summer transfer window, but they have a Plan B up their sleeve.

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The Gunners have made a stellar start to the season, and lead the Premier League after a perfect five wins from five games.

Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have settled quickly after joining for a combined £77m/€89m, while William Saliba has impressed at centre-back after returning on loan from Marseille.

Mikel Arteta has spoken on Arsenal's Deadline Day Douglas Luiz pursuit 🔴 👀https://t.co/tSfMaKho5W
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) September 2, 2022

But Mikel Arteta was understood to want a deep-lying midfielder. Zinchenko can play there but has been used at left-back so far, while Granit Xhaka isn't completely trusted. The situation is now more pronounced with Thomas Partey picking up a thigh injury.

Luiz was targeted, but Villa slapped a €46m price tag on the Brazilian who only has one year left of his contract to run at Villa Park, and the deal fell through. Leicester's Youri Tielemans was also previously priced out of a move.

"Arsenal were thought to be eyeing up an £18m (€21m) bid for the tough-tackling Brazilian, who is now into his third season as a first-team regular," write the Daily Express.

"While the timing of their interest in the 21-year-old didn't please Palmeiras this time around, they may be more receptive if given plenty of time to react in January."

Palmeiras are midway through their domestic season, and currently sit top of both the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A and the Campeonato Paulista.

How good is Danilo?

Danilo is only 21 but he has already racked up 128 games for Palmeiras in all competitions. The Verdao rate him highly, and he has a release clause at the Allianz Parque of €99m, although Arsenal are hopeful of getting him for significantly less.

A tough-tackling midfielder, Danilo is yet to earn international recognition for Brazil, but that would appear to be only a matter of time with Manchester United pair Casemiro and Fred both passing 30 this season.