Arsenal: Arteta ‘lost belief’ in £120k-a-week star at the Emirates

Arsenal‘s interest in Leicester City star Youri Tielemans was not that strong, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

While Arsenal made multiple bids for another midfielder in Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz, they failed to make a proposal for rumoured target Tielemans. Considering that – the offers for Luiz – O’Rourke believes the north London club could have signed the Belgian if they really wanted to.

What exactly happened with Arsenal, Tielemans and Luiz?

Tielemans was a player Arsenal showed interest in during the summer transfer window. As per the reliable Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners were in talks with the 25-year-old’s agents for “months” but, in the end, nothing materialised.

In Luiz’s case, though, something did. According to Sky Sports, Arsenal made three bids for the Brazilian prior to the transfer deadline.

The first one was believed to be worth £20m, the second £23m and the final one £25m.

While it was decent money for a player into the final year of his contract, those offers came at the very end of the window, making it no surprise that Villa did not want to sell.

What has O’Rourke said about Arsenal, Tielemans and Luiz?

O’Rourke has told GIVEMESPORT that Arsenal’s second bid for Luiz would have been enough to buy £120,000-a-week Tielemans.

Speaking to GMS, the journalist said: “The offer of around £23m for Douglas Luiz would have been enough to land Tielemans – so I think we can take from this that Arsenal lost belief that he was the right fit for their team. They were interested but not interested enough.”

How was Arsenal’s transfer window as a whole?

While Arsenal did not sign Tielemans or Luiz in the end, Mikel Arteta will be happy with the business he was able to do.

In total, five new players arrived at the Emirates during the summer window, including Gabriel Jesus, who joined the Premier League outfit from Manchester City in a £45m deal.

Following the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – now at London rivals Chelsea – and Alexandre Lacazette, the Brazil international is exactly what Arsenal needed.

He has been able to make an instant impact, coming up with six goal contributions in as many games to help Arteta’s men climb to the top of the table.

All in all, it was a good window for Arsenal. However, had they signed one of Tielemans or Luiz and a winger like Wolves’ Pedro Neto, who they were linked with, it could have been an even better one.