Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has explained the club's decision to deny Douglas Luiz a deadline day switch to Arsenal. The 25-year-old midfielder was heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium in the final hours of the summer transfer window.
football.london understand that the Gunners are long admirers of Luiz. And, it's said that once the club became aware Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey would be absent for some time due to injury, the north Londoners ignited a plot to sign the Brazil international despite having just a few hours to work with.
Arsenal tabled three bids for Luiz, with the highest thought to be in the region of £25million. But, Villa stood strong and snubbed the Gunners' advances despite the Brazilian having just one-year left on his current deal and, therefore, entitled to leave for free next summer.
