Fabrizio Romano reveals his “dream” Arsenal transfer target and an alternative.
Arsenal’s preferred January transfer target is Douglas Luiz, according to transfer news ace Fabrizio romano, but the Gunners could also have an alternative in the midfield role in Ruben neves.
The Spaniard has impressed at Aston Villa and is a big admirer of Arteta, who has a long-standing relationship with the Spaniard.
Arteta has also had an interest in Neves in the past, having impressed at Al Hilal during his time with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Romano says Arteta and director Edu have discussed Neves with each other in the past and that it would be difficult for Arsenal to sign Luiz mid-season.
Rumours continue to swirl about Ruben Neves, and I believe these stories stem from the fact Mikel arteta has long been a big admirer of the player, having worked with him when Arteta was at Wolves and has mentioned him a number of times when Arteta and Arsenal director Edu have discussed targets,” said Romano. “That’s probably why there are links, but there are no talks going on at the moment, and in reality, Arsenal’s dream target in midfield has to be Douglas Luiz, but it’s a tricky deal, as Aston Villa are on fire and don’t want to let go of an important player in January. It would take a significant sum of money to change Villa’s mind, so Luiz is Arsenal’s dream player – they view him as a top-class player with a bright future, but it will be very hard for them to close this deal.”
Neves could be a potential replacement in the event that Luiz is not available, but January will certainly be a busy period for Arsenal due to Thomas Partey’s injury.
Arsenal supporters will be eager to see someone step up in this area of the pitch, as they have been hit by a number of injuries this season, including Thomas Partey, who has barely featured so far this season, and Martin Odegaard, who has had some recent problems.
