It seems unlikely that Luiz will be tempted to extend his stay at Villa Park in the near future after being denied the chance to join Arsenal before the close of play on Thursday. He reportedly pushed hard for the move after learning of Mikel Arteta’s interest in snapping him up but was eventually made to remain with his current club in spite of his desire to leave.The Gunners were hopeful that Villa would soften their stance against selling Luiz after landing Wolves midfielder Leander Dendoncker, who many have tipped to serve as the former’s direct replacement. However, it seems as though a cut-price move in January will be at the top of Arsenal’s priority list for the next few months with the summer transfer window finally done and dusted.Meanwhile, Villa boss Steven Gerrard hinted at the possibility of Luiz leaving the club when quizzed on the situation ahead of deadline day but insisted that his own preference would be to keep the midfielder around until at least the end of the season.
