Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has rather interestingly spoken out on the transfer saga involving Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz and a potential January move to Arsenal.
The Brazil international has been one of the stand-out performers in Unai Emery’s hugely impressive Aston Villa side this season, and it may even be that they’re outsiders in this year’s Premier League title race now after recent 1-0 home wins over both Manchester City and Arsenal.
Luiz would undoubtedly be an exciting signing for the Gunners right now, but at the same time, it’s easy to see why Petit feels it may be worth the player sticking around Villa Park for a bit longer.
The club are clearly going places under Emery, and it might be a risk to leap at the first chance to change in the middle of the season, especially as it’s surely not entirely certain how much he’d get to start games at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal could do with bringing someone in to cover for the injury-prone Thomas Partey, but they still also have other quality players such as Declan Rice and Jorginho in that position, as well as a decent backup in Mohamed Elneny, while Oleksandr Zinchenko could also possibly play that position if needed.
Petit admits he’s been slightly surprised by the £100m price tag being touted for Luiz, so it seems he’s not only uncertain if the player would be right to make the move, but he also seems to be sending a note of caution to his former club about splashing so much cash on the 25-year-old.
“£100m is a lot of money, I really like Douglas Luiz but is he worth £100m? It’s crazy money,” Petit told Compare.bet, as quoted by the Metro.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea for Arsenal to go straight on the market and buy Luiz for that much.”
He added: “When you’re playing at the best level with your current club, it’s a very big risk to change and go to another club.
“I can understand it’s very exciting to join Arsenal, but the timing, I don’t think it’s good for him.”
Arsenal fans will surely hope there is still a chance they can sign a big name like Luiz this January as it would no doubt help them keep their place at the top of the Premier League table.
At the same time, it might be a near-impossible task negotiating with Villa right now, while the north London giants also arguably need to think more about adding a goal-scorer than anything else.