Mikel Arteta orders contract extension after being 'impressed' by Arsenal star

Luiz is a popular figure in the Arsenal squad (Picture: Getty)



Arsenal will trigger a one-year extension in David Luiz’s contract after he emerged as a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s squad, reports say.

The Brazilian defender arrived from Chelsea last summer in what was a shock move that got off to a rocky start.


Like many of his team-mates, Luiz faced criticism for his performances at Arsenal but the centre-back has improved since Arteta took charge.

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The Sun claim Arteta has been impressed by Luiz and has sanctioned the decision to extend his stay at the Emirates.

Luiz joined Arsenal on a short-term deal and turns 33 next month, and opened up on how difficult it was to leave Chelsea behind.

‘I can be honest with you, the first three days or week was not easy to understand all the emotions or how I was feeling, because everybody knows my history with Chelsea,’ Luiz told OTRO.

‘I had this connection with everyone at the club. It was so massive and big and I was missing every single one.


Arteta has been impressed with Luiz (Picture: Getty)



‘Every text message I was receiving, people were saying: “Come back, come back, come back, come back, we are here for you”.

‘I give you the example of a gentleman there who is 75 years old. He was taking breakfast with me at the time when he had the opportunity.

‘He was texting me: “I am still waiting for you here to take the breakfast again”.

‘This kind of thing was so difficult for me, because I am someone that sees the heart as the most important thing.

‘But then after that, in the professional way, I was saying: “It is a new moment for you. It is another big thing for you to do. Maybe if you stay in the comfort zone it is not going to be the best thing for you?”

‘If you look at my history of life I was never wishing to stay in the comfort zone.

‘It was a top decision. [Arsenal] are a big club. I want to make this club improve and to shine again. The first days were difficult but after that I started to adapt. ‘Now I am so happy and I want to do big, big things with Arsenal.’