Arsenal defender David Luiz has come under the microscope following the club’s recent north London derby defeat on a recent episode of the Arsecast Extra.
Despite taking the lead against their local rivals courtesy of Alexandre Lacazette’s brilliant strike after 16 minutes, Mikel Arteta’s side went on to lose the game after Sead Kolasinac gifted Son Heung-min with a goal before the Gunners switched off from a set piece, presenting Toby Aldeweireld with the opportunity to head his team in front with just nine minutes remaining, from which he obliged.
Andrew Mangan, host of the Arsecast Extra, was critical of Luiz’s general display at the weekend during a discussion with James McNicholas of The Athletic. Here is what he had to say:
“He’s 33 years of age, he’s a hugely experienced player, and I feel like this is the kind of game where you want him to show his experience, where you need him to show his experience and to show some of this supposed leadership we hear about. I just feel like in games like this, he kind of coasts or we just don’t see that enough in these big games. Think about the way he played against Liverpool earlier in the season, think about what he did against Man City a few weeks ago.
“But in a game like this, where he’s been there, done that, seen that, worn the T-shirt, I just find his performances so indifferent.”
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According to WhoScored.com, Luiz earned a performance rating of 6.14/10 for his display at Spurs on Sunday, so you could argue Mangan has a point. The Brazilian signed for the club in August 2019 from Chelsea in a deal reportedly worth £7.83m (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk). It was recently announced by the Gunners that the 33-year-old will be staying in north London for another season.
Given Mangan’s comments and the fact that in the Premier League this season, Luiz has been only the club’s 19th-best performer (via WhoScored.com), you could argue the decision to extend his stay was a questionable one at the very least.