David Luiz: 2019/20 Performances

[krengon]

You guys aren't getting it. Our whole team has failed this season, not just Luiz, it's been soo unsettled. No starting 11, 3 managers, different formations. We need to be smart this summer, let me put it to you this way, which signing wins us more points next season?

A. Upamecano replacing Luiz

B. Partey replacing Ceballos/Guendouzi/Torreira/whoever else has played next to Xhaka.

If you think it's A, there is no helping you.

Well if we don't strengthen both positions it's a lost cause anyway, but between those 2 choices it's obviously B. That's got nothing to do with what I was talking about though.

 

[Heavy Duty Rom]

There must be some fr

It's obviously B but along with kicking out David Luiz because he is a liability. In every big match you expect him to make a mistake and he rarely fails to deliver it. Doesnt even need to be a big match. Even against Watford just look at his defending. He is directly implicated in a crazy number of goals conceded this season although people only talk about his penalties and red cards.

The guy is washed up. Too slow and too reckless. Even if you get Partey as DM Luiz can still punish you at any given time.

It can't all happen at once for us. If the stories are to be believed, we have limited funds. If it was up to me, i'd put all that into signing Partey and Grealish (or someone similar) Sort the midfield three out first.

 

[bojed]

Aren't we the most generous club in the league, since forever?

 

[Camus]

I refuse to believe that they've made this decision on a footballing basis. For that to be the case the individuals making these decision would have to be clinically *. I talking about not being able to tie their shoes *. Needing a carer to guide your piss because you miss the toilet *. They simply would not be able to function as normal human beings *.

 

[Rimaal]

This club is finished.
We'll have to resuscitate when Sanllehi leaves. Nothing to be done whilst he's in charge.

 

[Wrighty4eva]

All this means is we are not going to invest where we need to for another year, this "Club" is a total Con job at this point.

 

[HollandGooner]

This club is finished.
We'll have to resuscitate when Sanllehi leaves. Nothing to be done whilst he's in charge.

Kroenke and Sanllehi to leave they are the problem.

 

[GDeep™]

Didn’t he switch off for one of the Olympiacos goals? Every big game he makes mistakes. Then he’ll have maybe one or two decent games against some bum team and we won’t stop hearing him getting praise for that non stop on AM for months.

 

[Hunta]

Didn’t he switch off for one of the Olympiacos goals? Every big game he makes mistakes. Then he’ll have maybe one or two decent games against some bum team and we won’t stop hearing him getting praise for that non stop on AM for months.

Arsenal fans are thick. They embarrass people like me and you.

 

[FatFraudRaul]

Well the trio has managed to kill all optimism in a day. Absolute shambles of a club

 

[lomekian]

I'll stop you at your first point. The main reason we have little to no spending power is because we've made so many bad deals. Every bum that can walk and has a CB flag will get a contract here, costing us points and money.
Instead of stopping this madness, we've decided to award mediocrity with another luxury contract.
This contract tells me more about the future we're heading to than anything else. All hopes that I've had for some restructuring of this club are gone now, and that basically leaves me with no interest in this club, and I'm sure others will feel the same.

Actually a FAR FAR bigger reason is the fact that Ivan and Arsène made such a disaster of player sales. Hundreds of millions of pounds thrown away.

£6-7m for an extra year of David Luiz doesn't harm this club, especially once Sokratis leaves (and possibly Mustafi). Mari will be on friendlier wages and Arteta was desperate for a left footed centre back. As for Soares, I'm surprised, but I've heard that he wanted more years and was willing to take less money to do so. And while he's not exciting, we need a reserve right back. Basically signing Soares says the club believes Bellerin can get back to something like his previous level. Also when you look deeply into the stats, Soares is very good defensively. I was surprised how good his defensive metrics are.

I suppose my question to you is, if Sokratis and Mustafi both go, how do you feel about these deals then?

 

[lomekian]

This good season narrative just doesn't hold up at all, the bar must be in hell if this is what counts as good. Even a one legged Koscielny was better than this.

And yet Luiz was so much better in the Europa League final.

I'm not sure our system as is covers Luiz's flaws as well as I'd like, but ultimately this is just a stop-gap until Saliba is properly adjusted.

Idiot pundits always bang on about our defence, but only because they still think we have a good midfield. Our absolute priority has to be upgrading in central midfield, because until we do, whoever is at the back is going to look rubbish, and we won't create chances. In Guendouzi, Willock and maybe AMN we've got some young midfielders with promise but there is no way we should be relying on any of them as a primary creative player in central areas.

 

[GeorgiaGunner]

Actually a FAR FAR bigger reason is the fact that Ivan and Arsène made such a disaster of player sales. Hundreds of millions of pounds thrown away.

£6-7m for an extra year of David Luiz doesn't harm this club, especially once Sokratis leaves (and possibly Mustafi). Mari will be on friendlier wages and Arteta was desperate for a left footed centre back. As for Soares, I'm surprised, but I've heard that he wanted more years and was willing to take less money to do so. And while he's not exciting, we need a reserve right back. Basically signing Soares says the club believes Bellerin can get back to something like his previous level. Also when you look deeply into the stats, Soares is very good defensively. I was surprised how good his defensive metrics are.

I suppose my question to you is, if Sokratis and Mustafi both go, how do you feel about these deals then?

In a vacuum it’s not a horrible deal. He’s a marginally useful squad player. However, 1) it wouldn’t shock me if only ~one CB (of the entire stable, not just Mustafi and Sokratis) is moved on, 2) I’ll bet this and [1] will preclude any meaningful investment at CB that would send Luiz to a deserved spot on the bench, and 3) awarding a new contract days a howler like we just saw reeks of the spineless apathy that’s plagued us for years now.

In short, I think people’s visceral reaction to this (otherwise unremarkable) move is more disgust that it confirms ugly suspicions about the club’s current level of ambition, summer plans, and tone-deafness.

 

[lomekian]

In a vacuum it’s not a horrible deal. He’s a marginally useful squad player. However, 1) it wouldn’t shock me if only ~one CB (of the entire stable, not just Mustafi and Sokratis) is moved on, 2) I’ll bet this and [1] will preclude any meaningful investment at CB that would send Luiz to a deserved spot on the bench, and 3) awarding a new contract days a howler like we just saw reeks of the spineless apathy that’s plagued us for years now.

In short, I think people’s visceral reaction to this (otherwise unremarkable) move is more disgust that it confirms ugly suspicions about the club’s current level of ambition, summer plans, and tone-deafness.

We've already got a £30m+ centre-back arriving in the summer. Bringing in 2 young expensive centre halves with risk attached at the same time was never going to happen, and we simply can't afford those who would present an instant risk free upgrade

 

[GeorgiaGunner]

We've already got a £30m+ centre-back arriving in the summer. Bringing in 2 young expensive centre halves with risk attached at the same time was never going to happen, and we simply can't afford those who would present an instant risk free upgrade

Normally I'd agree, but when the status quo is the not-exactly-riskless Luiz, I'm willing to take a chance at finding a permanent (two-pronged) solution.

I'm not even sure I'd want Saliba playing next to the guy, lol. Unless he's known to learn really well from 1) counterexamples and 2) having to take on way more responsibility than he normally should/would.

 

[lomekian]

Normally I'd agree, but when the status quo is the not-exactly-riskless Luiz, I'm willing to take a chance at finding a permanent (two-pronged) solution.

I'm not even sure I'd want Saliba playing next to the guy, lol. Unless he's known to learn really well from 1) counterexamples and 2) having to take on way more responsibility than he normally should/would.

Not saying we shouldn't bring in a 2nd guy, but rather that with £30m down on saliba and a midfield that needs spending urgently, we just can't afford to. We could take a punt on another young CB, but there goes our midfield money.

Luiz is just here to hold the fort while saliba beds in and Holding and later chambers come back from injury and either take their chance or don't. He'll be a back up by Xmas I think.

 

[Bloodbather]

If David Luiz is to play, he should play as a defensive midfielder. I don't want to see him in the lineup as a center-back ever again.

 

[GeorgiaGunner]

Not saying we shouldn't bring in a 2nd guy, but rather that with £30m down on saliba and a midfield that needs spending urgently, we just can't afford to. We could take a punt on another young CB, but there goes our midfield money.

Luiz is just here to hold the fort while saliba beds in and Holding and later chambers come back from injury and either take their chance or don't. He'll be a back up by Xmas I think.

Right, and that 'owner can't be bothered to pony up to fix both the CB and CM issues' conclusion is a decent chunk of why people are annoyed. Less about Luiz being on the team and more about its implications elsewhere (even if they were forgone conclusions).

 

[Dutch D]

Yeah he had clown moments when exposed but I don’t think he’s the worst back up CB to have if (big big big if) we fix our defence.

He's our highest paid defender and if he stays he's in the bottom of the list. No club pays their 4th/5th choice centre back £120k/week.

I can live with Marí as a third choice option (contract is too long, though), but I can't understand this extension.

You guys aren't getting it. Our whole team has failed this season, not just Luiz, it's been soo unsettled. No starting 11, 3 managers, different formations. We need to be smart this summer, let me put it to you this way, which signing wins us more points next season?

A. Upamecano replacing Luiz

B. Partey replacing Ceballos/Guendouzi/Torreira/whoever else has played next to Xhaka.

If you think it's A, there is no helping you.

Most people on here understand midfield is the core issue. Just look at the Partey thread.

Doesn't take away the fact that Luiz is a calamity in defense. His personality makes up for a lot, but he always allows attackers too much time and space. Even when it doesn't result in goals or obvious blinders by Luiz it increases the pressure on our team. I've never rated him as a defender, and unfortunately he's proving me right every week, despite his ability on the ball and his positive attitude.

 

[lomekian]

Right, and that 'owner can't be bothered to pony up to fix both the CB and CM issues' conclusion is a decent chunk of why people are annoyed. Less about Luiz being on the team and more about its implications elsewhere (even if they were forgone conclusions).

If people are going to keep getting annoyed every time they realise Kroenke is not an oil baron spending a national budget to cover up human rights abuses, nor an oligarch looking for an insurance policy against assassination / property confiscation, I don't know how they will enjoy the future at all.

Kroenke to date hasn't harmed the club, he just hasn't helped either.

Frankly if Gazidis and Wenger hadn't ballsed up the contracts/transfers etc of the last decade we'd have recouped £200m-£250m more in fees, spent less in inflated contracts and avoided panic buying mediocrity like Lucas Perez, and would have had £300m+ more in transfer budget.

I don't like Kroenke's political views, business dealings or manner of takeover at Arsenal, but the blame for our predicament lies at plenty of feet