Arsenal will make another move in January to sign Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Lewis, despite two rejected bids on the deadline date.
Coach Mikel Arteta is concerned about the repeated absence of injury-prone Thomas Partey and wants a quality replacement to strengthen his side.
And he hopes Villa will finally convince him to cash in on Luis in the new year rather than lose the 24-year-old Brazilian next summer.
But Premier League bosses are likely to offer less than the €25million offered just four weeks ago.
This is because Lewis has less than six months left on his Villa contract when the transfer window reopens and has rejected all attempts by the club to extend his contract.
And Arsenal believe a €16million offer is a far too reasonable price for a player who joined Villa from Manchester City in 2019 for just €14million.
Lewis, who has barely been in Steve Gerrard’s starting line-up this season, appears to be interested in a move to the Emirates and has already developed a good relationship with Arteta since his time at City.
His arrival would be a real statement for Arsenal, who started the season with the goal of finishing in the top four.
However, in order to realize that dream, it is necessary for all the main players to play an active role as regular players.
And Parthi’s inability to overcome his recurring fitness issues is becoming a real worry.
The Ghana national team missed the final nine games of last season and Arsenal lost a top-four chance to Spurs at the last minute.
He has already missed half of his eight games this season with a persistent thigh problem and has just returned early from international duty with a knee problem.
Arsenal are confident the injury is not serious but do not want to take any risks ahead of Saturday’s important North London derby.
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