Liverpool’s Arthur Melo is set to miss three or four months of football with injury, potentially pushing the club to pursue Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz.

Ahead of Arsenal’s game against Liverpool this weekend, the visitors were dealt some bad news as they learned that on-loan midfielder Arthur Melo will have to undergo surgery. The Juventus man is set to be sidelined for three or four months.

That obviously has an immediate impact for Arsenal and Liverpool, as the player won’t be involved in the game on Sunday. But it could also have an impact on the two teams in the transfer market in January.

Various outlets have reported that Liverpool hold an interest in Douglas Luiz and could make a move in January, but those rumours are only likely to grow with Arthur’s injury.

Liverpool will surely now look to make a winter addition to their midfield, and Luiz could well be available for the right price as he enters the final six months of his contract.

This is relevant to Arsenal, as the Gunners have been the side most strongly linked with a move for Luiz up to this point.

Fabrizio Romano recently confirmed that Luiz remains on Arsenal’s shortlist for the January transfer window, with the tabloids reporting that they hope to land him for close to £15m this winter.

Mikel Arteta’s transfer team made deadline-day offers valued at £20m, £23m, and £25m for Luiz in the summer, but Villa turned them all down, apparently hoping to receive £40m.

Of course, with only a few months on his deal, Arsenal will be hoping the Premier League side are open to accepting a lower offer in January. Yet if Liverpool join the race, that may well change the picture.