Arsenal 'still monitoring' Premier League star after failed transfer pursuit - Romano

Cameron Smith

16 Oct 2023 03:21 CDT
3 min read

Fabrizio Romano's latest Arsenal transfer news — © ProShots

Arsenal are still monitoring Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz after failing to sign the Brazilian last summer.

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Luiz was one of the Gunners’ main targets in 2022, but they were unable to agree a deal on Transfer Deadline Day despite lodging three separate bids.

Now, Arsenal are ready to back in for the Villa star, according to Fabrizio Romano, as they look to bolster their midfield.

Despite signing Declan Rice for a club-record fee of €116.6 million during the summer, Mikel Arteta isn’t satisfied and would still like to sign more reinforcements in midfield.

Furthermore, Arsenal remain keen on signing Wolverhampton Wanderers star Pedro Neto, who is also admired by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

Romano told CaughtOffside: “As I recently reported, Arsenal have been monitoring Pedro Neto for some time, and I can also say that Arsenal always keep monitoring the same players they like and Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz remains one of them. He’s always been appreciated.

“Of course, we know that Arsenal had bids rejected for Luiz in September 2022, and he later went on to sign a new contract at Villa Park, which runs until 2026. He’s now a key player for Villa so the deal would not be an easy one, but many clubs appreciate him.”

Douglas Luiz to Arsenal?

While Arsenal remain keen on signing Luiz, negotiating a deal with Aston Villa is likely to be very tricky.

Firstly, he is one of Unai Emery’s most important players - having started every Premier League game this season, scoring three goals - and he signed a new contract extension in October 2022.

As a result, the Brazilian currently has a deal at Villa Park that runs until 2026.

Luiz has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €34.2m, which has fallen from a peak of €45.5m in May 2023.