Arsenal: David Luiz’s best and worst Gunners moments

David Luiz’s Best Moments for Arsenal

Such a polarizing figure.

It’s not even fair to refer to Luiz as marmite because with marmite your opinion remains untouched. No revisionism.

In his case, one week he’d have you ripping your hair out and the next you’d be counting your lucky stars his experience was there in the heart of defence. This season has illustrated it clearer than the previous that what he brings to the team no other player in the squad can offer.

On his day, his distribution is a sight to behold. No hyperbole as we recollect about his time in red and white, it genuinely was among the best to find in central defenders on the continent.

As is the case with error-prone footballers, the howlers they produce always become the focal talking point. They stick out more than his curly locks next to Rob Holding. However hard it may be, peel back the deficiencies and when selecting the Arsenal Team of the Season he’s in there. Fairly comprehensibly.

The time has come to move on, however. This is a rebuild. Hopefully a serious one. That means tearing out the floorboards, regardless of how new they may be, and installing durable replacements.

Was Luiz worth the £8m and excruciating experience of watching him play 70% (or whatever it may be) of the time? The negatives on the pitch will outweigh the positives, on balance.

Set up a defense for Arsenal winning the 2020 FA Cup without him, however, and you’re losing that battle in court. His role in that trophy lift is undeniable.

As a presence off the pitch we read stories of the adoration for him among his teammates and there is absolutely nothing to suggest they’re false. Every player speaks so highly of the 34-year-old and each interview he gives is an illustration of the honest and warm man he is.

His skillset will need replacing and there is no doubt of that, yet Luiz is not the ceiling Arsenal should have. They need better than him being the best centre-back at the club. The time has come for positive change, not just change itself.

Put it this way, the training ground will miss him more than the football pitch.

Obrigado, David. Adeus.