Brazilian centre-back David Luiz quite shockingly chose to leave Chelsea and join Arsenal during deadline day of the summer transfer window.
The move was a bit surprising primarily since no one really saw it coming especially since only a couple of months ago, the defender had committed his future to the club. And also because he chose to sign for a direct London rival.
While talking to the Gunners’ official website, David Luiz revealed that he chose to make the switch because he thought his time at Stamford Bridge was over and he wanted a new challenge in his career.
“The cycle finished there,” the defender told Arsenal’s official website.
“It was a conversation between me and Chelsea and everybody. I had an opportunity to come to another big club. In my life, I’ve always liked to do some challenges.
“I’m not scared at all to try things. I think not too many players would make this kind of move, they would maybe be scared, or something like that.
“I’m just trying to do big things in my life, so like I said, my cycle at Chelsea finished and now I’m excited to start a new chapter of my life here.”
But some rumours have suggested that David Luiz actually chose to move across London because he had a falling out with Frank Lampard which was even more evident after the defender was stopped from training with the first-team squad.
While David Luiz has chosen not to say anything about this but the Chelsea boss has made the issue pretty clear.
The manager said: “We had some conversations over the last week, honest ones and the conclusion was that he should move on.
“It’s a position that I have a lot of competition. Everyone has to understand that. He has moved on and we wish him the absolute best because he has been a big part of our history.
“There wasn’t any strikes. No fall-outs, just honest conversations. As a player, I want that as a manager, and I think I got that from David.
“Him not training was a decision I made as I felt that is what I made at the time. You can’t dictate too much what happens at times. The decision was that he moves on to Arsenal and I focus on here. Yes, he is a good player.”
