It’s fair to say it was a successful and busy summer transfer window for Arsenal. Technical director Edu splashed the cash, spending in excess of £110 million on five first-team players.
In came Gabriel Jesus, Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira, goalkeeper Matt Turner, winger Marquinhos and versatile full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko. Many Arsenal fans are now hopeful Mikel Arteta has been handed a squad capable of ending their six-year UEFA Champions League hiatus after falling agonisingly short last season.
However, injury issues threaten to plague what has been an excellent start for the North London side. Martin Odegaard had to come off with an ankle injury during Wednesday night's win over Aston Villa, while Aaron Ramsdale also went down in the game.
Both of those added to Arsenal's pre-existing injury list which includes Zinchenko, Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny. Midfield is in particular where Arsenal still look thin on the ground, which is why the Gunners sought to address the issue on transfer deadline day, making a late move for Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz.
However, the club had three separate bids rejected and were unable to secure a deal for the Brazilian. Arteta discussed the same on Friday in his press conference: “We had a lot of things still to do in the squad. The club has done a phenomenal job to bring in players that we wanted.
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“Unfortunately in the last 72 hours Thomas and Mo got injured and we had to react in the market. We tried and at the end of the day we have to bring in the players we feel are right but we didn’t manage to do it.” When asked how long he could be without the duo, the Spaniard responded by stating: “With Mo, we are talking months, with Thomas weeks and even shorter than that I hope.”
It’s easy to see why Luiz was considered such a suitable target from an Arsenal perspective and he ticks many boxes in terms of what they’ve been after. Without the ball, he’s robust, reads the game well and tends to illustrate excellent defensive positioning. Only John McGinn from Villa’s midfielders managed more tackles and interceptions on a per 90 basis last season (4.14).
He compliments that defensive steel with excellent technical ability. Often a key cog in his side’s build-up play, unsurprisingly he averaged more successful passes than any other Villa midfielder last season (41.3). The 24-year-old is also very press resistant, able to dribble out of tight spaces or through the lines and into dangerous locations.
Perhaps as a consequence of their expenditure in the summer, Arsenal were only willing to pay up to £25million for Luiz. On one hand that’s understandable, it was after all late into the window and his contract is due to expire in 12 months' time.
However it’s also clear why Villa were so reluctant to let him leave for such a price. He’s a top talent, at a good age and has a very high ceiling. The Midlands club will surely be working hard over the next few months to try and get him tied down on another long-term contract.
But now he’s aware of Arsenal’s interest, that’s going to be tough. It’s more likely that the Gunners look to revisit this one later down the road because as highlighted above, he’s a player who has the potential to add not only depth but also quality to Arteta’s midfield.
