Arsenal have terminated the contract of defender Hector Bellerin - but their deadline day bid to sign Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa suffered a late setback.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is a big fan of Brazilian defensive midfielder Luiz but Arsenal's wage bill meant they had to ship players out before they could consider completing another new signing. It emerged late on Thursday night, however, that the Gunners saw another bid for Luiz, believed to £25m, rejected by their Premier League rivals.
Spain right-back Bellerin, who made 239 appearances for Arsenal in competitions since making his debut in the 2012-13 season, had one year left on his £100,000-a-week contract and Arsenal reached agreement to terminate his deal which will allow him to secure a move to Barcelona. La Liga confirmed that Bellerin had joined Barcelona on Thursday night.
Bellerin, 27, joined Arsenal as a kid but was loaned out to Celta Vigo last summer and did not feature in Arteta’s plans, although his wages were causing a major issue. Arsenal have a sky high wage bill and were always going to have to balance the books this summer to fall into line with Financial Fair Play restrictions. They had to do something before making bids for Luiz, who has made it clear he wants to leave Villa to join Arsenal.
Arsenal have seen Mohamed Elneny suffer a hamstring injury while Thomas Partey also missed the midweek game with Villa which has left Arteta keen to bring in reinforcements. They made two bids for Luiz on deadline day but Villa rejected £20m and £24m as they do not want to sell and Arsenal were up against the clock to get it done.
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Meanwhile, the Gunners shipped Ainsley Maitland-Niles out to Southampton on a season-long loan deal. The 25-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Roma having had a previous stint at West Brom.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “Ainsley is at a good point in his career, with a lot of experience already, but he is also still a player with potential, and he is someone who can definitely help us. I think he fits well with us and can develop his game even further during his time here. He can also play in different positions, which is always a good thing, and I am pleased to welcome him as part of our squad.”
