Last week, the expectation was that Arsenal would be targeting a winger on the final day of the transfer window following Nicolas Pepe's loan departure. However, injuries to both Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny have left the club little choice but to prioritise midfield as the clock ticks down.
Following the Gunners' win over Aston Villa, Mikel Arteta confirmed that Elneny, in particular, will be out for a while. Injuries are never ideal but they come at a time when Arsenal find themselves heading into a busy fixture schedule, with five games to play over the next 18 days.
"Obviously, it has an impact (on transfers) because Thomas is injured as well, and we're a bit short in that position," Arteta said. "We have players like Sambi, we have players like Granit who can play there. The club has been super supportive to keep improving the squad and the team as we can, and if the right player is available and we can do it we will try."
READ MORE: Arsenal transfer deadline day plans, Douglas Luiz deal, new signings, Danilo and Mudryk latest
Reports surfaced that Arsenal were exploring the possibility of bringing in Palmeiras midfielder Danilo, who is a long-term target of technical director Edu. Although there is interest, football.london understands any deal is unlikely this late in the window due to the Brazilian side's reluctance to sell. If nothing is sealed before 11pm tonight, it's one that could be revisited in January, however.
For now, it would appear that Mikel Arteta has already set his sights on someone else and rather coincidently, someone who scored against Arsenal last night. That's because a deal to sign Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz is actively being pursued, football.london understands. Sources at Villa have been insisting that Luiz will not be sold, but with under a year remaining on his current deal, a move in the region of £20m cannot be ruled out.
It may not be the name Arsenal fans were hoping for or expecting, but they can be reassured by the fact that any move for Luiz is far from a panic buy. The Brazilian is another long-term target, who was seriously considered as an option back in January. The club has done its homework and monitored the 24-year-old closely since, while Arteta is also familiar with the player from their time together at Manchester City.
If Arteta's record of signing players he's previously worked with is anything to go by, then the chances of Luiz's potential arrival being a success are relatively high. The additions of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have taken Arsenal to another level this summer, so there will be hope that Arteta can also get the best out of Luiz if he does complete a switch to north London in the coming hours.
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