Arsenal: 3 reasons to exercise David Luiz extension

2. He is crucial to Mikel Arteta’s style

Like his former boss, Mikel Arteta has two primary philosophies that he demands of his players: press relentlessly with a high defensive line, defending on the front foot and  in an aggressive manner; dominate possession by moving the ball quickly and playing out from the back. Luiz is central to both of these ideas, and he certainly suits this style better than every other centre-back in the squad bar Saliba.

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Most notably, Luiz is a superb distributor. He is happy to receive the ball under pressure, he is calm and composed, and he has the technical skill to play difficult passes between the lines that split defenders and accurately pick out teammates in advanced positions. These 20 or 30-yard passes on the ground are far more difficult passes to play than they look, and Luiz is superb at them.

This is central to Arteta’s progression play. Both Granit Xhaka and Luiz have been the primary distributors from deep, tasked with recycling possession with sharp passes in deep areas before then finding teammates with more searching passes. No other centre-back in the squad can replicate Luiz’s distribution.

Out of possession, while his propensity to make silly mistakes is frustrating and will never truly disappear, he is much more comfortable when playing a high line, pressuring the opposing attacking players, nicking the ball ahead of them, but also possessing the athleticism to cover the larger spaces that appear in behind. Luiz suits Arteta’s style down to the ground. Losing him would leave a massive hole at a position that is already problematic.