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Arsenal failed to get a Deadline Day deal over the line for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz but could return with a bid in the January transfer window. Gerrard previously admitted that it is ‘not in his hands’ as to whether the 24-year-old stays at Villa stating that it’s up to Luiz and his agent. The Gunners were keen to add a new midfielder to their squad after Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny picked up muscle injuries towards the end of August, though the former is set to return to action for the North London Derby on Saturday. Speaking in his pre-Leeds United press conference, the Villa boss offered an update on Luiz’s contract situation at Villa Park admitting he is ‘not surprised’ about the continued speculation over the 24-year-old’s future.
Steven Gerrard said: “No news in terms of extending his stay here, so that hasn’t changed. But what I would say is that he’s very focused, he’s trained well. Am I surprised by the speculation? No, because we’ve got a young Brazilian player who’s a fantastic talent so I expect to be asked this question a lot as the season progresses. We want him to stay here, the owners were very strong in keeping him here, we didn’t obviously want to lose him on the final day and he has performed very well since and he has trained very well and he is ready to go at the weekend.”
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