Arsenal vs West Ham: 5 key players as desperation looms

4. David Luiz

I have a very love/hate thing going on with David Luiz. I love how, when he’s left isolated in the defense, he’s quick to lash out at his teammates and ask where the hell they were. He’s not afraid to hold them accountable, he’s outspoken, and that’s something that’s drastically lacking from just about everyone else on the team.

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However, I hate how much of a liability he can be in defense. This has been a problem his entire career though. So it’s a lot to ask for that to change now. For him to suddenly be a better defender than he’s ever been. But that’s the charge that the club placed on him when they bought him this past summer, so I don’t think it’s that unrealistic to ask it of him. Even just a slight improvement.

Whatever the case, Luiz has the capacity to whip this defense into shape, and while I don’t think it will ever work with Sokratis back there, putting Luiz back there with Calum Chambers or Rob Holding, both of whom are solid defenders unlike the rest, could spark the defensive change that’s needed to turn our fortunes around.

I’m being really optimistic here. But suffice to say Luiz has the capacity to spark change, so I’d love to see it actually happen.

Moving on to No. 3.