“Hopefully it will calm down in the hours and days to come and he’ll be fine moving forward” – Gerrard opens up on how Douglas Luiz reacted to Aston Villa rejecting Arsenal bids

Steven Gerrard claims Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz respects the decision not to sell him to Arsenal on transfer deadline day.

According to Sky Sports, Villa rejected three bids for the 24-year-old from the Gunners, with the final offer worth £25 million. Luiz is out of contract next summer and reports claim he would like to play for a team in the Champions League.

However, Gerrard claims he had a one-on-one chat with the Brazil international after his move to Arsenal failed to materialize. Ahead of the Villans' clash with Manchester City this weekend, the former England and Liverpool midfielder told a press conference (as per AVFC.com):

“I’ve got confidence that he’ll understand the situation and the club’s decision that we didn’t want to lose a very important player and a top player so late in the window."

He added:

“From a personal point of view, I very much back the club’s decision and stance on that. I spoke to Dougie face-to-face yesterday and he understood where it was at and the position that the club was in. He very much respects the decision. Hopefully it will calm down in the hours and days to come and he’ll be fine moving forward.”

Luiz has made 116 appearances for the 1982 European champions, who have endured a miserable start to the season with just one win in their first five games. They are currently 19th in the table.

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Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal's transfer policy affected by midfield injuries

Following Mohamed Elneny's injury, Arteta's side now appear to be light in central-midfield. Arsenal have started the season brilliantly, but their failure to sign Luiz or another midfield option may come back to haunt them.

Per the aforementioned Sky Sports report, Arteta stated before the transfer window slammed shut:

"We are looking at options. Obviously [Mohamed Elneny's injury] has an impact because Thomas Partey is injured and we are a bit short in that position."

He added:

"We do have Albert Sambi Lokonga and Granit Xhaka who can play there. We are just looking at options in the market. As I said, the club has been super supportive to try to keep improving the squad and the team as we can, and if the right player is available and we can do it, we will try."

Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka and the current first-choice midfield double pivot, with Albert Sambi Lokonga and Oleksandr Zinchenko also capable of playing in that role.