Arsenal eye Bruno Guimaraes alternative
Arsenal are reportedly interested in bringing Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz to Emirates Stadium before the transfer window shuts down in less than a week.
The Brazilian is said to admired by manager Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu, who are hoping to bring in at least one body in midfield this month.
The Gunners look set to miss out on Lyon’s Bruno Guimaraes after Newcastle United’s bid of €40m was accepted by the French side. Lyon have officially denied the rumour but last night the normally reliable Athletic are still insisting that the Brazilian is scheduled to undergo a medical in Ecuador imminently.
The North London outfit also seem to have conceded defeat in their approach to land Juventus’ Arthur Melo, after negotiating for a whole month.
This has led them to shift their focus on the Aston Villa man and a move from the club might be imminent.
The 23-year-old joined the Claret and Blues in 2019 from Manchester City for €15m and has been one of the better players at Villa Park since his arrival.
The Olympic Gold medalist with Brazil has 94 appearances for his current team and nine for his national team. Which is six more than his countryman Guimaraes, despite being younger.
The reason why Arsenal are the favourites to land him either in this window or the summer is simple; Arteta had a closer eye on him when Luiz was City’s asset.
The other aspect is that the Brazilian has just 18 months left on his current deal with Aston Villa and manager Steven Gerrard confirmed that they have not opened talks with the player.
“No, we haven’t opened contract talks yet with Douglas,” Gerrard told the Mirror. “I think in this period and in this window, it has been the case of trying to strengthen the current squad, make additions and, also, find destinations for some of our younger players in terms of loans.
The former Liverpool man is already looking at several midfielders across Europe to continue his rebuilding process at his new club.
Brighton’s Yves Bissouma and Juventus’ Rodrigo Bentancur have been heavily linked to Villa recently which might be a sign of Luiz’s imminent departure.
Nothing can be said at the moment. Arsenal losing out on Guimaraes was disappointing for the club’s faithful.
However, the last time there was an outcry of this extent, it ended up just fine for the club and the fans too. I am talking about the Emi Buendia situation.
The Gunners, instead of out-bidding Aston Villa for Buendia, went for Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard. They were not shaken by the clamour and ended up showing they were right.
I hope they are right this time too.