Arsenal is after Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins

Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins might be on the move in the next transfer window as Arsenal is reportedly interested in acquiring both of them from Aston Villa’s side, as they’re trying to fill some key roles.

So far, the Brazilian midfielder has been a regular on the Villans squad, with both Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard on the bench. He’s played 14 out of 18 games so far this season, and he’s managed to assist three times on the current season. Douglas is under contract until 2023.

On the other hand, Ollie Watkins has been shortlisted by Mikel Arteta to replace Aubameyang when he leaves Arsenal, as he’s praised before Watknis´ playing style and skills on the pitch.

So far, he’s played on 16 games and has scored five goals for the Villans, as well as one assistance. He was a regular for the beginning of the season, but since Gerrard became coach of the team he’s now a key player in the starting XI.

So far, Arsenal is standing 4th on the Premier League, something that, if maintains, will give Arteta’s team access to the 2022/2023 Champions League. Aston Villa is standing 12, far from the places that would grant them access to an international competition.

Aston Villa might be keen on keeping both of their players, as they’re not in need of selling and could establish as key players and have long career with Aston Villa. But the thought of playing Champions League or Europa League might convince the players to switch teams, if the right offer arrives.

Douglas Luiz was part of the team that won the Olympics.

His regularity has earned him a couple of calls to the Brazilian National Team in the CONMEBOL Qualifiers for the World Cup, and he was also part of both the team that won the 2021 Olympic games against Spain and the Copa América runner-up Brazilian squad that lost against Argentina.

Since his arrival to Aston Villa from Manchester City on 2019, the 23-year-old has played 90 games for The Villans. He’s been able to score on three occasions and assist 8 times. Prior to his arrival to England he was loaned to Catalunyan Girona for two seasons, when the team participated in La Liga.

Ollie Watkins has been impressive this year

Watkins joined Aston Villa at the start of the 2020/2021 season out of Brentford, where he played for three seasons. He´s under contract until 2025, but Arsenal could be preparing a juicy offer to acquire his services in the next few weeks.

On the season and a half that he’s been a Villan, the 26-year old has played 56 games, 52 of them as a starter. He’s also managed to score 21 goals and assist on six occasions, stats that made him Aston Villa’s top scorer since he joined the club.

His appearances on the pitch have earned him a call to play for England’s National Team, as he debuted this year on the UEFA Qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. So far he’s played five matches coming off from the bench, scoring one goal on his debut on the 5-0 victory against San Marino.