DAVID LUIZ refused his man of the match award after Arsenal’s win over Manchester United and admitted the Gunners are “not physically ready yet”.
The Brazilian was handed the accolade by defensive partner Sokratis after the North Londoners won 2-0 at the Emirates but the 32-year-old was not prepared to accept it.
David Luiz refused to accept his man of the match award after Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0
First-half goals from Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis gave Arsenal all three points and Luiz was commanding at the back.
He had come in for criticism in recent games with some fans branding him a “liability” after his old team Chelsea won 2-1 at the Emirates.
And clearly aware of his rocky form for most of the season, Luiz dedicated yesterday’s individual accolade to his teammates.
Sokratis presented him with the award and said: “This is for you.”
But Luiz batted it away and said: “No this is for the team. Thank you.”
Pressed for his general thoughts on the game, the frizzy haired centre-half added: “We did a great first-half. We were a mature team in the second-half.
“But we have to be honest and humble to admit physically we are not ready, we showed that second-half against Chelsea and today but when physically you’re not there, you have to put your heart [in].
“This team is in a moment now to change a lot of things.
“You cannot change zero to ten in one day, one week, one month, but it is beautiful to see how the kids start to understand the commitment, the behaviours and what they have to do every single day to achieve big things.
“I think we showed that today and I think we’re going to do big things in the future, but step-by-step.”
Upon seeing the actions of their defender after the game, Arsenal fans were quick to praise him for his attitude.
Neil posted: “Love it. Selfless and exactly the kind of attitude champion teams have. Look out PL, Arsenal are turning the corner.”
And MD added: “Stuff that captains are made of.”
Laca tweeted: “What a guy David Luiz is,” while plenty of other Gunners supporters hailed his actions as “class”.
Arsenal legend Lee Dixon says that he was impressed with Mesut Ozil against Man Utd
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
