‘What does he actually do?’ – Yorke insists £40m Arsenal target is not a ‘a top-four player’

Dwight Yorke claims Aston Villa should’ve “taken the money Arsenal were offering” for Douglas Luiz last summer, according to reports.

The 24-year-old was a target for Mikel Arteta’s side towards the end of the summer transfer window .

However, Aston Villa were demanding £40m at the time and Arsenal decided not to reach their valuation despite their need for a new midfielder.

The Brazilian has scored three goals and provided five assists in 28 Premier League matches for the Villans this campaign.

And former Aston Villa and Manchester United striker Yorke claims his former side should’ve taken the money for Luiz as he’s “not quite sure what his strengths are”.

“I don’t understand why Aston Villa didn’t take the money for Luiz in the summer, if I were in that position I would have definitely taken the money Arsenal were offering for him,” Yorke told LegalSportsbooks.com.

“Luiz does a great job for Villa, but I don’t think he’s a super player to take Arsenal to the next level.

“To leave a great historical club like Aston Villa, you need to make sure you’re going to make a difference at this even bigger club you’re leaving for.

“Douglas Luiz is a player I have watched closely at Aston Villa and I’m not quite sure what his strengths are. What does he actually do? He’s very steady in midfield but I don’t understand the hype from the summer when Arsenal nearly signed him.

“Luiz is not creative enough to sit in the midfield. He plays a crucial role at Villa, but you have to do more to warrant a big move.

“I don’t think he’s a top-four player, but he’s acceptable for Villa.”

Gabriel Jesus has claimed that the “king of joking” Oleksandr Zinchenko “wants to kill” him after joking about his Premier League title contributions.

Arsenal striker Jesus told Footballers Lives on TikTok: “I think Alex [Zinchenko] is the king of joking.

“He says ‘that last one, last season, I came on against Villa, we were 2-0 down’. He came on and honestly he changed a little bit the game you know because he received the ball, attack and he gave an assist.

“He just said that ‘I gave you one trophy, one Premier League, because of me, you have four’. I said ‘listen, okay, I accept that but in four Premier Leagues, you only start 20 games’. He wants to kill me.”