Arsenal player Gabriel Magalhaes revealed that his £50 million international teammate, Douglas Luiz, was extremely upset last summer when he couldn’t secure a move to join Arsenal. Luiz had high hopes of transferring to either Arsenal or Manchester City, but Aston Villa turned down all of Arsenal’s bids in 2022, and Man City didn’t activate a buy-back clause, surprising both Villa and the midfielder.
Despite the disappointment, Luiz didn’t lose his motivation and continued to perform at Aston Villa. Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, would still love to have a player of Luiz’s quality at the Emirates, especially considering the midfield options available. Luiz could potentially offer a stronger presence than Jorginho and greater reliability than Thomas Partey. There was a vision of Declan Rice playing as a more advanced midfielder, which would make the perfect role for Luiz.
While Luiz was keen to leave Villa for Arsenal, it didn’t materialize. However, there’s still a possibility of this deal happening in the future, albeit likely at a higher price due to Luiz’s importance to Aston Villa’s success under Unai Emery. Villa would demand a significant fee if they were to part ways with the Brazilian.
As for Arsenal’s future plans, it remains to be seen where Mikel Arteta will focus on squad improvements. They have been linked with moves for Ivan Toney and Pedro Neto, but Luiz’s skillset and performance at Aston Villa could be more immediately valuable to Arsenal.
Alan Shearer refrained from predicting that Arsenal would win the Premier League title this season. However, if Arsenal were to make significant signings, such as the mentioned players, it could potentially shift the balance in their favor.
