Arsenal: You don’t want David Luiz in the North London Derby

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 17: David Luiz of Arsenal looks on during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Burnley FC at Emirates Stadium on August 17, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 17: David Luiz of Arsenal looks on during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Burnley FC at Emirates Stadium on August 17, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal’s defense has continued where it left off from last year, but moving into the North London Derby, it’s key to keep David Luiz out of the mix.

Here’s the thing. We have every reason to simultaneously like David Luiz and what he brings to Arsenal and still want him to be nowhere near the North London Derby. That’s the line we are walking in then build-up after seeing Liverpool put up three on this defense at home which, all things considered, wasn’t that bad.

But my concern is Tottenham’s inherent ability to flop. Son and Kane are the flopmaster generals of the Premier League, and will take every possible opportunity to fall over, and with Luiz not the most graceful defender, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Against Liverpool, Mo Salah didn’t even have to unleash his token flop to earn a penalty from an atrocious defensive mistake by Luiz, and the track record of the Spurs front line makes Luiz akin to Mustafi, just in a different capacity.

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That’s the thing with this defense that you have to take advantage of. There is hidden depth here, if only Unai Emery will use it. He’s using it in the midfield, he’s using it in the attack. Use it in the defense too.

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We saw in the opening week that Calum Chambers was up to snuff and we know that Rob Holding is up to snuff too. Chambers was unfairly removed from the starting XI to accommodate Luiz, who has since made two mistakes in two games leading to two goals, and if fair is fair, Luiz should be the one to make way for Chambers.

I thought that Emery was smart deploying the veterans of Sokratis and Luiz against Liverpool, but maybe I put too much value on their experience and not enough on what they have done with that experience. Both are temperamental, prone to mistakes, and at times overly aggressive. Chambers and Holding are none of those things. But they lack experience.

Honestly, if Holding is ready, I would rather see Holding and Chambers start than Sokratis and Luiz. But if one or the other of the latter pairing has to play, it’s gotta be Sokratis, who has yet to commit the kind of error that Luiz has… twice.

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This is a debate that might not last as long as you’d think. It’s only a matter of time before Chambers and Holding take the jobs for good.