With just four hours remaining of the transfer window it's shaping up to be a busy end for Arsenal.
The Gunners have already been active this summer, bringing in Matt Turner, Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to reach a spending total of well over £100million for the second summer in a row. They could though still bring in more.
Injuries to Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny and Oleksandr Zinchenko have left Mikel Arteta's side low in numbers in midfield and they have decided to act. football.london understands that they have focused in on Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz as their main target for this position, but with time running out, a deal has yet to be agreed.
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Arsenal have reportedly made two bids to bring in the Brazilian, but football.london understands that Aston Villa are holding firm. They have consistently claimed throughout the day that they do no want to sell Luiz and with Manchester City having included a 20% sell on clause on all fees over £15 million into his move, they are extra motivated to get as high a fee as possible.
Despite that wish though Luiz only has one year left on his contract, and Villa will know that this is realistically their final chance to extract a decent fee for him. The 24-year-old is keen to make the move happen, but right now it is between the two clubs to work out whether an agreement can be reached.
Prior to the midfield injury crisis there were talks of a potential forward coming in to answer Arteta's call for "more firepower" in his squad. Pedro Neto of Wolves and Shakhtar Donetsk's Mykhalo Mudryk were both linked, but the focus on Luiz combined with limited funds appears to have put paid to that possibility.
Away from incomings, Arsenal still have a few outgoings that they want to get over the line. Hector Bellerin is edging closer to a move to Barcelona, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles is in line to seal a move to Southampton that will be a loan with an option to buy after Arsenal exercise their option to extend his deal by a further year.
Cedric Soares will be staying however. football.london understands that Fulham were interested in the Portugal international, but he instead wants to stay and fight for his place. Kido Taylor-Hart will also be staying in North London after some speculation over a potential loan.
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