Arteta and Edu told Arsenal have three reasons to seal Luiz January transfer

Arsenal could turn their attention back to Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz as Mikel Arteta searches for a Thomas Partey replacement. The Gunners were very interested in signing the midfielder during the summer of 2022 with three bids being rejected by Aston Villa with the final one worth £25million arriving in early September before Luiz signed a new contract at Villa Park.

Over 12 months on and the 25-year-old's stock has increased drastically following an excellent spell under Unai Emery. Despite often playing as part of a midfield pivot with Boubacar Kamara, Luiz has scored six goals from 19 appearances in all competitions this season already close to matching his tally of seven from last season.

The majority of those have come from the penalty spot but his impressive displays in the middle of the park have also seen him recalled into the Brazil squad. His emergence as someone capable of arguably getting into any top six midfield has come alongside Arsenal's eagerness to sign a new midfielder following the news Partey would be out until the new year after undergoing a procedure.

As a result, focus quickly switched from signing a new attacker to acquiring another midfielder despite bringing in both Declan Rice and Kai Havertz earlier this year. Corinthians star Gabriel Moscardo, Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi and Al Hilal's Ruben Neves have all been mooted, although former Arsenal man Mikael Silvestre believes Luiz is the man to sign over the latter for three reasons.

Speaking to bettingexpert.com, he said: "I think I'd go for Douglas Luiz even though it's a close call between him and Ruben Neves. Maybe because there is Brazilian connection at Arsenal with Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli, Gabriel Magalhaes, I would go for Douglas Luiz. I would add a fourth Brazilian."

However, it must be noted that bringing Luiz to Emirates Stadium in the middle of a season will be quite the challenge and he has an understandable high asking price. Given his importance to Emery, Aston Villa have slapped a huge £60million price tag on his shoulders in an attempt to scare off potential suitors.

However, there may be a way Arsenal can bring down that fee with Emile Smith Rowe a target of the Midlands club over the last few windows. The Hale End graduate is currently out injured but a possible swap plus cash deal cannot be ruled out given their past interest, although Arteta is unlikely to allow him to depart despite his limited role in recent years with injury issues stopping any consistency from being built.