It has been decided by all involved, David Luiz will leave Arsenal at the end of the season with the club electing not to extend his contract.
A season to forget is drawing to a close for Arsenal and it appears it will also signal the end of David Luiz and his time in North London.
The player will not get a chance to redeem this season’s blunders and will leave the Emirates when his contract expires in July. It was announced that the club, the player and the manager, all felt the best decision was to wrap it up after two years.
"Experienced defender David Luiz is to leave Arsenal at the end of the season. An amicable meeting between Luiz and Arsenal took place on Friday, where it was decided that he would leave when his contract expires in July. (Via: Sky Sports)"
Successful is far from the term you would use to label his experience at the North London club. Brought in by Unai Emery, kept by Arteta, but similar outcomes during his short-lived Gunners career.
One FA Cup is all the ex-Chelsea man has to show after making his move from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates. But this is by no means his own fault with the club in total disarray.
David Luiz’s contract extension at the beginning of the season was a huge shocker!
The news that Arsenal will not be extending the Brazilian’s stay in North London is not as big a surprise as it was to hear that they were renewing his old deal with a one-year extension, at the start of the current campaign.
It was said by Mikel Arteta at the time, Luiz was an important figure in the squad and he needs the defender’s presence in the dressing room as well as on the pitch.
Not many imagined they would extend his stay considering the 2019/2020 campaign where they ended in eighth with 48 goals conceded – the second-highest total by a team who finished in the top 10 that season.
When you include his pair of red cards for 2019/20, many alarm bells went off. Funny enough and what added even more confusion, at the time of the announcement and discussion of his new deal, the EPL season just reopened following the shutdown due to the COVID pandemic.
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His restart run consisted of 25 minutes of football played, a red card, and a strong contribution in their 0-3 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad.
He was on his way out ahead of the contract renewal and the new era was beginning under Arteta with other plans in place – plans that didn’t include David.
Was it for his experience and the fact he was Brazilian, knowing who their targets were for the current campaign? They brought countrymen Willian on a free from Chelsea and Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille on a permanent deal reported to be £27m.
Magalhaes and Luiz has formed a partnership that needs large improvement. They’ve conceded 10 fewer goals (38 goals conceded this season) compared to their 48 of last season but they sit in ninth in the Premier League standings on 55 points.
At best they can end the season with 61 points, five points better off than last season’s 56, and an outside chance to end 5th – but every team from 5th and 8th must lose all of their respective games for that to happen.
Impossible? Undeniably!
The pandemic forced unnecessary dealings for every club around Europe – until today, clubs are still struggling with their business strategies.
One of the reasons Arsenal had to settle with a David Luiz extension was because of their financial status brought on by the outbreak of COVID-19. But judging by their league position, do you think a young man would have done any worse?
Look at Liverpool and what Jurgen Klopp has had to work with without having his first-choice centre-backs healthy for selection. He had a 20-year-old and 24-year-old pairing in a must-win match in the fight for top four against Manchester United on Thursday night past.
They beat their closest rivals 4-2 at Old Trafford. It has been the case for a large part of the season and it has them above Arsenal in fifth place. For the Reds, the gamble has worked out and the young defenders are gaining priceless experience while having to fill in the gaps.
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Arsenal suffered with Luiz in the line-up
The club suffered regardless of Luiz being involved or not. Across all competitions, he started 27 of his 30 games played. The Gunners won 15, drew 7, and lost 8 when he was on the field – which is nothing to write home about.
This also proves Arteta and the club got it wrong. David Luiz’s work rate is second to none but he was never going to reach the heights he did while playing for London rivals, Chelsea.
They’ve missed the mark and almost all the goals set this season. No silverware and no European football for next season is looking like the settlement for those at the Emirates. Ending Luiz’s time at the club is the best possible thing to do.
Arteta has already been backed by the club with them reassuring he will not be sacked and he will continue beyond the summer. Not offering Luis a new contract could be the best decision he’s made as the Arsenal boss.