Former Arsenal star Paul Merson feels that the arrival of David Luiz can help Arsenal reach the Champions League this season.
Luiz ended his second stint at Chelsea by joining Arsenal on deadline day as the Brazilian became the Gunners’ sixh summer signing, the others being Gabriel Martinelli, Dani Ceballos, William Saliba, Nicolas Pepe and Kieran Tierney.
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Last season, Arsenal had a number of defensive issues and while Merson feels that Luiz’s addition to the squad won’t be sufficient to resolve those issues, it’ll can be enough to take the Gunners to the Champions League, as he feels that his departure from Chelsea will significantly weaken the Blues.
In his column for the Daily Star, Merson wrote: “David Luiz is not the answer to Arsenal’s defensive problems but he might be enough to get them back in the Champions League. I say that not because he makes my old club much stronger but because he makes Chelsea so much weaker.”
Given how poor Shkodran Mustafi performed last year, Luiz is certainly a big boost for Unai Emery’s team.
The centre-back was a regular for Chelsea and forged a strong partnership with Antonio Rudiger in central defence, which was key in the Blues winning the Europa League and finishing third in the Premier League. Luiz was included in the Europa League’s Team of the Season for his performances.
As far as Chelsea are concerned, they have Andreas Christensen to partner Antonio Rudiger in central defence. The Dane did well under Antronio Conte in the 2017/18 season and should do well under Frank Lampard this season too.