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£15m Arsenal target lauded for ‘the most exquisite defence-splitting passes’

Reported Arsenal target Douglas Luiz earned plaudits aplenty for his latest Premier League performance.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with the Aston Villa ace in recent months, and speculation continued ahead of and during the January transfer window.

For instance, Fabrizio Romano said on his  in November that Luiz is “the top target” for the Gunners this year.

Meanwhile Ben Jacobs said on the in January that Luiz was one of the players Arsenal would “100 percent” love to sign.

Aston Villa v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Arsenal target Douglas Luiz “back to his best” for Aston Villa

The long-time Arsenal reported target delivered an outstanding display for Villa in their 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United on Saturday.

Luiz helped his side take the lead with a superb through-ball which Ollie Watkins very nearly slotted home.

The ball came off the post as Anel Ahmedhodzic attempted to clear, but it fell into the path of John McGinn, who slammed home.

Luiz then repeated the feat to help Villa go 2-0 up with an outstanding outside-of-the-boot pass which Watkins slotted home in the 16th minute.

The £15million midfielder’s heroics saw him make Garth Crooks’ latest Premier League Team of the Week.

“Luiz set up two goals in a matter of minutes with the most exquisite defence-splitting passes,” he wrote on the .

“The Brazilian was back to his best against a United side that looks destined to play its football next season in the Championship if they don’t beat Luton at Kenilworth Road at the weekend.”

Arsenal love Douglas Luiz but Aston Villa won’t make it easy for Gunners and other suitors – TBR View

Luiz has been sensational for Villa since joining from Manchester City for just back in 2019.

He has gone on to make 184 appearances for the Villans, with 19 goals and 21 assists to his name.

With Luiz’s contract running until the summer of 2026, this summer could be when clubs start circling and potentially testing the waters.

Let’s see whether Arsenal decide to do this. However, there’ll no doubt be a lot of competition, and Villa themselves are in a good place now, so it’ll be difficult to even persuade them to part company with Luiz.

And if they do, the Gunners – and any other suitors – would probably have to pay a lot for a Premier League-proven international star in his prime.