Saturday Morning Transfer- Arsenal are already plotting to hijack ‘fantastic’ £34M rated ‘unrelenting machine’ who is seen as the best possible candidate to replace Granit Xhaka- securing the player would be the ‘perfect end’ to Arsenal’s summer spending
Arsenal have already enjoyed a proficient start to the summer window, with Mikel Arteta’s free-spending philosophy set to continue as the Premier League season nears.
How much would Douglas Luiz cost?
One of the latest transfer reports to emerge comes courtesy of The Sun, who suggest that the red half of north London preparing to hijack their rivals’ move to sign Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa.
With Tottenham Hotspur big fans of the Brazilian maestro, planning to target him should Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg depart, the Gunners actually hold a slight advantage given Granit Xhaka’s exit has already been confirmed.
As such, the Emirates outfit are eyeing a fresh move for the 25-year-old, for whom they saw three bids turned down at the back end of last summer, the highest of which reached £25m.
FootballTransfers value Unai Emery’s midfield general at €39.8m (£34m).
How good is Douglas Luiz?
Whilst many fans would have worried that Arteta chose to let Xhaka leave after such a sparkling campaign, the transfers that have followed more than justify the departure.
Signings like Kai Havertz and Declan Rice will go a long way towards replacing his output, but neither profile well as a direct alternative given the former’s preference to attack, and the latter’s lean towards defending.
Fortunately, though, Luiz does.
Standing at 5 foot 9, this mobile midfield battler has announced himself as one of the league’s most tenacious yet cultured assets in the engine room. As such, last season saw him maintain a 7.10 average rating, buoyed by his 86% pass accuracy, 62% dribble success rate, 1.2 key passes and two tackles per game, via Sofascore.
It was no surprise to see him perform so valiantly, increasing his offensive output, as journalist Ashley Preece had prefaced this by branding him “classy” back in 2021. This kind of quality will always be lauded by an Emirates crowd so used to witnessing silky displays.
To compare these figures with that of their departed Switzerland international, it is clear to see just how well the two profile against one another.
The 30-year-old machine would average a 7.05 rating of his own in the league, with his pass accuracy and dribble success rate exactly matching Luiz’s.
With 1.3 key passes per game, the two once again are only narrowly separated, but just 0.9 tackles per game is likely a product of his side’s dominance of possession rather than defensive profligacy, via Sofascore.
That is without mentioning the fact he notched 16 goal contributions across all competitions, which once again was only three more than the Villans star managed.
His Spanish boss had detailed his new role back in September, and sought to emphasise how he had grown in influence within the team:
“He has a different role this year – he’s in more advanced areas and I think he’s playing really well. He’s been really consistent this season and is a really important player for us.”
Such outstanding similarities make it obvious just how natural an heir Luiz is and explains just why Arteta was so desperate to secure his signature last summer. Should they triumph in the current window, it would take fans no time at all to move on to their newest star.
Something truly special is occurring at the Emirates, and getting one over on their north London rivals could prove an additional benefit to this stunning capture. It could mark the perfect end to a fine summer of spending.
