Arsenal: David Luiz is a defender, so he’s worth the gamble

Of all the centerbacks Arsenal could have signed we appear to have opted on David Luiz. He’s certainly not the marquee defender we wanted but he a defender nonetheless

Is David Luiz a defender I wanted Arsenal to sign? No. Do I think he’s going to improve the defence? No. Am I going to give him a chance? Yes.

It’s definitely not a transfer out of the blue as such, we have been linked with him previously and his name was mentioned as a target back in the January transfer window, but a move never materialized.

Some fans are questioning how we managed to end up landing with David Luiz especially since over the last couple of days it seemed like we were gearing up for a mega bid for Dayot Upamecano or signing Daniele Rugani on loan.

I must admit I was surprised as well when the news broke, but if we are being honest with ourselves we were never going to sign Upamecano especially when you consider that Leipzig weren’t going to let him go for less than his release clause of £92m and Juventus only wanted a permanent deal for Rugani which we weren’t willing to consider.

Understandably, there has been a lot of backlash with Luiz. At 32, he’s in the twilight of his career and we were expecting to sign a younger player.

And of course there’s the fact that he is prone to the odd, ridiculous mistake; something that you could associate with just about every other defender at the club, so he should fit in well in that respect.

I will be honest though, I do think there are some qualities to David Luiz’s game that may help us next season, he’s a fantastic ball-playing defender. Better than what he have at the club at the minute and if we are going to stick with Unai Emery’s plan of playing out from the back, he will come in handy. Luiz also looked a lot more composed at the back last season.

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What I like most about this transfer is the character he will bring to the club. He’s a serial winner and he’s known to be a huge voice in the dressing room, something this squad definitely needs and hopefully he’s someone who won’t put up with lackluster teammates.

Many people will argue that was the same scenario when we signed Petr Cech and that we were signing a serial winner who was supposed to take the club back to the top. The difference is that back then, we had a squad filled with average players with no backbone.

Under the current regime, we are trying to build a team with a stronger core and winning mentality, maybe Luiz can be the voice for the team and the inspiration for the younger players to press on. Plus, Luiz has been managed by Emery before at PSG, so he will know exactly what to expect and what’s expected of him.

Now, maybe I’m clutching at straws by saying that David Luiz can be that difference maker in the dressing room and we could just as easily end up with a player falling apart and just after one last payday. But I am confident when I say that I believe that David Luiz is a better defender than Mustafi, despite his flaws, and at 32 he’s only going to be a short-term fix. Which is better than nothing.

Ultimately we are getting a player who is experienced within the Premier League and we know what to expect. Now the news that Arsenal have agreed terms with Celtic for Kieran Tierney and our defence is looking just a ‘little’ better than last week.

So are the better options on the market than David Luiz? Definitely. But is David Luiz worth the gamble? Definitely.