‘It’s an open secret’ – Arsenal plot eye-catching move for Aston Villa star; ‘huge offer’ required

Arsenal reportedly remain interested in signing Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz but it would require a ‘huge offer’ to secure his services this summer.

Mikel Arteta has already brought in Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber and the Gunners are now on the verge of signing Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.

Arsenal’s transfer business may not yet be done, but they may have to sell players before they sign off on any more major incomings.

For instance, Arteta is willing to part ways with the likes of Folarin Balogun, Nicolas Pepe, Rob Holding and several others.

That will be necessary if Arsenal want to sign Luiz this summer, as Aston Villa definitely won’t let him leave on the cheap.

The Brazilian has been in good form under Unai Emery. He made 37 Premier League appearances last term, scoring six goals and making six assists in the process.

Luiz was a key player as Aston Villa secured a seventh-place finish in the table. As a result, they will be playing European football for the first time since 2011 this season.

As previously reported by Football365, **Arsenal and Tottenham both hold an interest in the Brazilian. **

According to transfer journalist Dean Jones, Arsenal remain interested in Luiz but may find it difficult to finance a deal for him this summer.

“I think it’s an open secret in football that Arsenal still want Douglas Luiz, but they have failed to sign him in the past and given that Aston Villa are in a better place now than they were in 2022, I would expect them to keep hold of him again,” Jones told GiveMeSport.

“It would take a huge offer to change their stance on that and while I do actually think this would be a great style of player for Arsenal to sign, I’m not convinced they have the capability in this window to make an offer that is so strong that Aston Villa can not turn it down.”

Arsenal have already spent £200m on signings this summer and as mentioned, that will soon become £230m.

Therefore, Arteta may struggle to sign any more high-profile targets without first selling several targets.

With that in mind, it seems unlikely Luiz will be making a move to the Emirates this summer. Arsenal’s interest in him clearly remains, though, so there is no reason why they couldn’t come back in for the midfielder in the future.

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