There are two parts of the David Luiz stint at Chelsea as he went to Paris for three years and returned to Stamford Bridge as his next destination.
That was understandable, as Antonio Conte valued him his main center half for his system and to some extent Maurizio Sarri too, but his move from Chelsea to Arsenal generated quite a stir.
These two bitter city rivals never miss an opportunity to show the world their supremacy and when a direct swap like this takes place there must be a solid reason for it. And David Luiz surely had his reasons.
These two bitter city rivals never miss an opportunity to show the world their supremacy and when a direct swap like this takes place there must be a solid reason for it. And David Luiz surely had his reasons.
When the Brazilian came to know about the appointment of Frank Lampard as the blues’ boss, he apparently had a direct talk with him over. Clearly, Luiz was not at all convinced by the system of his former teammate and could not understand his value in that system.
Sarri used his passing range to set the tone of the attack from the back. But the Italian could not survive in the league and part his ways from the London club. That automatically raised the questions whether Lampard will use the same system which includes Luiz supplying long balls from the back. And according to the Brazilian, he was not in the plans of his former teammate.
“I decided to leave Chelsea before there was contact with Arsenal,” he told The Telegraph.
Luiz added, “People do not know that but I decided early to leave Chelsea. After that, I had contact with Arsenal and I took a decision which everybody knows was not easy. Me and Lampard, we had honest conversations. Man to man, me and him. His ideas of football were different to mine. We just agreed: ‘OK, we move on’. In an honest way, in a mature way.”
The duo won Premier League, Champions League and two Europa cups, which definitely ensured the fans that someday this duo can also get along in a player-manager relationship. But unfortunately that did not happen. As soon as it happened, David Luiz immediately responded to Arsenal’s call. The Blues will play against Ajax in their next Champions League fixture whereas Arsenal players will be getting ready for the Europa League encounter.