ARSENAL are ready to trigger the extension clause in David Luiz’s contract to keep him at the Emirates to 2021.
The Brazilian centre-back has emerged as a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s team.
David Luiz has impressed Mikel Arteta and is poised for a new deal
Yet Luiz admitted he struggled to cope with mixed emotions in the immediate aftermath of his £8million move from Chelsea last summer.
He revealed: “I decided to leave Chelsea before I talked to Arsenal but when they came in for me two days later I said ‘OK, let’s do it’.
“But for the first three days with Arsenal it was not easy for me to digest all the emotions because everyone knows my history and connection with Chelsea was so massive.
“I was already missing everyone at Chelsea and every text message I received was from people saying ‘come back, we are here for you’.
“Those made it difficult because the heart is the most important thing but after that I was able to move on in a professional way.
“I started to adapt and now I am so happy with Arsenal. I want to do big things here.”
OUT OF COMFORT ZONE
Luiz, 32, claims the move was inspired by his desire to constantly test himself.
He told the OTRO YouTube channel: “If you look at my career, it has never been the best thing for me to stay in the comfort zone. I’ve never been afraid to make big decisions.
“When I was 14 I left my family and took a bus to Salvador to become a footballer.
“When I got the opportunity to come to Europe with Benfica, I arrived in Lisbon without any coats or stuff for the winter but I was a happy boy because I got to fly business class for the first time in my life and was living the dream.
“After that, it was not an easy decision to come to Chelsea because I was in love with Portugal.
“But I went to the best league in the world with a club where I had the opportunity to win many things and learn from many people.”
The highlight of Luiz’s Chelsea career arrived in 2012 when he won the Champions League final despite playing with a hamstring injury.
He added: “I told myself, ‘There are 200 million people in Brazil and only one can play in this final and it’s going to be you’.”
Watch the full video on OTRO’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/otro.
Joe Willock hits David Luiz’s phone as Arsenal joker hilariously wakes up team-mates by squeezing their noses
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
