Frank Lampard’s decision to sanction the sale of David Luiz to Arsenal was prompted by the defender choosing to ignore his tactics during a pre-season game against Red Bull Salzburg.
The experienced Brazilian centre-half, a former teammate of Lampard’s at Stamford Bridge, moved across London on transfer deadline day in an £8million deal that appeared to come out of the blue.
Luiz has featured prominently in pre-season under Lampard but the tension between the pair came to a head following the 5-3 win in Salzburg.
Maurizio Sarri’s successor had instructed his defenders to play out from the back but, according to The Athletic, Lampard was dismayed at the number of ambitious long balls Luiz attempted.
The 32-year-old was subsequently dropped for the following game against Borussia Monchengladbach before he was told not to train with the rest of the first team squad ahead of his move to Arsenal.
Luiz has made an inauspicious start to life under Unai Emery at the Emirates and was at fault for two goals in the recent 3-1 defeat Liverpool, before he gave another less than commanding display against Tottenham in last Sunday’s north London derby.
‘I think [the criticism] is normal, in my all my career it has been like that, especially when you are a defender,’ said Luiz after Arsenal battled back from 2-0 down to secure a creditable point.
‘Strikers never lose games unless if they miss a penalty in the last minute, this is football. The defenders have to take responsibility and take [criticism] in a good way, in a humble way. We need to understand when we make a mistake and say that.’