Douglas Luiz will miss Aston Villa's trip to the Emirates
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Aston Villa head to the Emirates on Sunday looking to maintain their push for a Champions League spot.
Unai Emery's team have been the surprise package of the 2023/24 season having lingered around the top four spots since the early stages of the campaign.
Currently fifth, level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham, Villa face the toughest test in the country as they head to league-leaders Arsenal who are yet to lose a single game in 2024
Douglas Luiz set to miss the trip to the Emirates
Unai Emery returns to his former side without the Brazilian (Image credit: Getty Images)
To make matters worse for Aston Villa, they will be without star midfielder Douglas Luiz, who misses the trip due to suspension.
The Brazilian has been one of the staples of Unai Emery's side since taking over in 2022 and has only failed to start one Premier League game this season. Despite initially being signed as a defensive midfielder, Luiz has since become a real threat in the attacking third, scoring nine goals in the league this season while adding five assists.
Douglas Luiz converts a penalty against Burnley (Image credit: Getty Images)
Luiz himself has recently laughed off interest from elsewhere ahead of a busy summer transfer window, telling DAZN Portugal: "We're all very happy with how this season is going, especially me, with all the history that the club is building and for my goals and assists, too.
"Personally, I'm very happy with it all and I think it's just the start of a new chapter. As I always say, Aston Villa is a huge club and we're prepared to write a new chapter."
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"Since Unai arrived there was a huge boost in the group's confidence. I think he brought confidence to the team because we always had a good group of players."
James Ridge is a freelance journalist based in the UK. He recently spent time with The United Stand as an online news editor and has covered the beautiful game from England’s eighth tier all the way to the Premier League.
