Arsenal: The off-pitch brilliance of David Luiz

David Luiz is an unpredictable, imperfect defender on the pitch. But off it, he is a brilliant character to have in the dressing room, and Arsenal are already seeing the benefits.

Arsenal were desperate for centre-back help. After Laurent Koscielny threw his toys out of the pram and the only affordable, long-term solution the club could find would not arrive until next summer, the Gunners found themselves lurching from panic buy to panic buy, all in an urgent search for any semblance of improvement in central defence.

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Usually, this kind of last-ditch, unscheduled panic leads to ill-advised decisions. Think Andre Santos or Lucas Perez or Shkodran Mustafi. But this time around, Arsenal might well have pulled the rabbit from out of the hat.

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£8 million, deadline-day arrival David Luiz made his debut for the team on Saturday against Burnley. His performance on the pitch was perfectly acceptable for a 32-year-old who has had a turbulent but deceptively successful career. But off it, especially in his interviews after the match, Luiz made the quite the impression.

Speaking on Sunday, Luiz revealed what he is trying to bring to his new, largely youthful and inexperienced teamates:

"“I try to give what I have learnt from my life. I had an opportunity to live here, [had] many fantastic moments in my career and many titles and I just try to make [the squad] understand that everything is possible if you work hard, if you really believe, if you are humble and keep your feet on the ground and take it step by step. In the end I try to give them what many players did for me in my life."

He later echoed this sentiment of belief and striving for success when reflecting on his own goals for the future:

"“I am a guy with ambition and that is why I moved. I could choose a comfortable zone and get money and be cool and that is it, but I like a new challenge and new things in my life. This is what gives me oxygen and give me motivation and also to really enjoy this moment of my life.”"

There will be moments when Luiz’s play on the pitch will infuriate. Despite boasting an impressive skill set with a lovely passing range and modern-day athleticism, he is a naturally error-prone defender and there will be plenty of eye-gouging mistakes made this season. He will cost Arsenal points. It is why he was £8 million, not £80 million, after all.

Nevertheless, for all of his inequities on the pitch, Luiz is a sensational character off it. He is now a leader, as proven during his time with Chelsea and Brazil. He is a winner, despite his playing faults. He knows how to rile a dressing room, when to challenge and criticise and when to release the mode with a laugh and a joke; when to press those around him with testing remarks and standard-defining work rate, and when to galvanise and encourage and hoot and holler.

Luiz is not the perfect defender. He is not the perfect signing. But he will help Arsenal in more ways than just being able to kick a football, and for a desperate, last-gasp signing, that is more than what you could ask for.