19 December 2023 , 15:25
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Emmanuel Petit believes Arsenal should resist the urge to sign Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz for £100million in January.
The Gunners have been long-term admirers of Luiz, 25, and are considering making a fresh bid for the Brazil international next month. Villa will not sell their prized asset on the cheap and could demand up to £100m, which may prove too expensive.
Villa are third in the Premier League, just a point behind leaders Arsenal. They will not want to sell one of the most important stars to a direct rival. Luiz, who arrived from Manchester City in July 2019, is Villa's reigning Players' and Supporters' Player of the Year.
Only an astronomical bid for Luiz would be enough for Villa to say goodbye to Luiz. Petit, who won a Premier League and FA Cup double with Arsenal in 1998, is a fan of Luiz but doesn't want his former employers to get carried away in the transfer market.
Speaking to Compare.bet, World Cup winner Petit said: "£100m is a lot of money, I really like Douglas Luiz but is he worth £100m? It’s crazy money. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for Arsenal to go straight on the market and buy Luiz for that much."
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Petit believes Luiz "probably doesn't want to leave" Villa because of their current form. Villa will lead the Premier League on Christmas Day if they beat bottom club Sheffield United on Friday and Arsenal's game against Liverpool on Saturday ends in a draw.
The Frenchman added: "If I was Douglas Luiz I’d be very excited to have an offer from Arsenal, but... I’d look at my current team-mates and say, 'We are second place in the table and only one point off Arsenal. What happens if we do something very special'."
Luiz has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)Do you agree with Emmanuel Petit? Let us know in the comments below!
Luiz recently spoke about his joy of playing under Unai Emery at Villa Park. Petit doesn't think the timing of the midfielder's proposed transfer is "good for him" and reckons Arsenal will have a better chance of signing him at the end of the season.
Petit, who also played for Chelsea in the Premier League, explained: "When you leave in the middle of a season, you have to be very careful. 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."
Luiz agreed a new long-term deal with Villa in October 2022 and admitted he was happy to stay in Birmingham. "I am very happy to hear the stories but I am here at Aston Villa," the player told Sky Sports earlier this month. "My focus is totally here.
"I don't spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don't focus on that and I'm not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa."