It’s fair to say that David Luiz is a divisive figure among Arsenal fans.
And let’s face it, there’s good reason as to why some supporters haven’t taken to the veteran defender.
That’s because he has conceded six penalties and received three red cards despite only joining Arsenal 18 months ago.
He’s been a busy boy and once it was reported this week that the Gunners’ director Edu planned on giving him a new one-year deal, a lot of fans weren’t behind it.
But the truth is, it would be a smart move.
Only last month, Luiz posted a man-of-the-match display against a title-challenging team in Manchester United, illustrating that despite being 33, he still certainly has his uses.
Is Luiz the answer for Arsenal in the long term? No and he might not even be in Mikel Arteta’s first XI next season if he does stay.
But the Emirates Stadium side are always going to need experienced centre-backs to come in and do a job when needed and they won’t find a better option than Luiz in that regard.
Yes, he alternates between being a liability and redeeming himself on a regular basis, but few can deny that he’s absolutely a leader behind-the-scenes at Arsenal and let’s call a spade a spade, Edu and Arteta don’t have luxury of releasing a leader at the end of this season.
Nobody is saying that he should still be a first-team regular in Arteta’s XI every week next term but for his leadership off the field and experience on it, keeping him as a squad player will do little harm.
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