Fabrizio Romano has provided fresh insight on how Aston Villa were able to beat Arsenal to the signing of Norwich City winger Emiliano Buendia.

What's the latest news on Buendia?

Arsenal have held a long-term interest in Buendia, as they were linked with the attacker back in January. It was then revealed last month that Villa were also keen on the 24-year-old, which led to a straight battle between the two clubs for his signature.

It was officially announced on Monday that Villa had got the better of Arsenal on this occasion, when the club confirmed that they had agreed terms with Buendia, and that he would be joining Dean Smith's side subject to a medical.

What has Romano said about Villa signing Buendia?

Romano has acknowledged that it came down to a straight bidding war for the player, and Aston Villa came out on top due to offering a higher fee and mouthwatering terms to the player himself.

The transfer expert said on The Here We Go Podcast: "Arsenal made a proposal, it was around €30m (£25.9m) for Emi Buendia and Norwich said ‘no’. Aston Villa proposed €34m (£29.4m) with add-ons and Norwich said ‘yes’. The agreement has been completed and announced.

"Also, the proposal to the player was big, was huge from Aston Villa. So, fantastic player to Aston Villa".

What were Buendia's stats in 2020/21?

Paying almost £30m plus add-ons seems like a lot of money for a player who has spent the past season in the Championship, but Buendia might just be worth it.

The Argentine forward recorded a staggering 32 goal involvements in 39 games in the second tier in 2020/21, including 17 assists.

As per WhoScored, he produced 122 key passes across the course of the campaign. To put that into context, Norwich's next best performer in this category was Max Aarons, who managed 61, exactly half Buendia's total.

How big is the signing of Buendia for Villa?

This is a statement signing from Villa.

There is an element of risk in paying a club-record transfer fee for a Championship player, but Villa also splashed the cash when buying Ollie Watkins from Brentford last summer, and that has worked well, with the striker netting 14 league goals this term. It seems they are confident of Buendia making a similar impact in the Premier League.

By beating Arsenal to the signing of Buendia, they have shown that they can compete and get the better of one of the biggest clubs in the country in the transfer market. Villa will need to continue to do this if they are going to achieve their masterplan of becoming a club that contends for a top-four spot consistently in the coming seasons.