Arsenal seriously appealed to Douglas Luiz as his representatives pushed hard for a move, which is why he needed refocusing after the deal broke down.

Arsenal made a deadline-day move to try and sign Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa following injuries to their first-choice senior midfielders, but they were ultimately unsuccessful in their pursuit of the Brazilian.

Villa dug their heels in, refusing three bids from the Gunners, but it seems that wasn’t due to a lack of desire from Luiz himself.

With Champions League and Europa League football returning this week, Luiz may have been keen to play in European competition with Arsenal. Check out PicksforTonight if you’re interested in putting money on all the sport going on at the moment.

Regardless of the reasoning, The Athletic report that Arsenal seriously appealed to Luiz, and his representatives pushed hard to find a solution as Villa rejected all incoming bids.

Perhaps Luiz will end up at Arsenal eventually anyway, as his contract expires at the end of the season and he’s shown no intention to extend it yet.

For the time being, Luiz is continuing to play for Villa. The Athletic report that it took a deep conversation with Steven Gerrard to help the midfielder reset his mind – something Gerrard himself alluded to – but he was back in the team at the weekend.

Luiz started against Manchester City for just his second Premier League start of the campaign, and he helped his team to secure an unexpected draw against last season’s champions.