Arsenal loanee Daniel Ballard has been singing the praises of David Luiz.
The legendary Brazilian defender joined the Gunners in an £8 million deal and spent two years in North London, prior to Mikel Arteta and Edu deciding not to renew his contract this past summer.
Luiz had a mixed spell at Arsenal.
The former Chelsea powerhouse picked up three red cards and conceded six penalties during his short time at the Emirates.
But his leadership qualities had been praised by Arteta and despite his errors, he still helped Arsenal to an FA Cup title in 2020.
And centre-back Ballard – now on loan at Millwall – says that it was a brilliant experience to train with him, noting that his ‘phenomenal’ ability to carry the ball out from defence is something he needs to work on.
He told The Clockend Podcast: “It was nice last year to train with David Luiz who’s such a nice guy around the training ground. Something I need to work on that he’s phenomenal at is carrying the ball and picking a pass from the back so that was a good experience learning from him.”
Twilight
At 34, Luiz is very much in the twilight of his career.
It took him a little while to find a new club after being released by Arsenal but Brazilian giants Flamengo signed him up on a Bosman a little earlier this month.
He was very much a divisive figure during his time at the Emirates, for reasons mentioned above, but there’s also a hell of a lot to admire about the curly-haired enigma and Ballard’s praise is testament to impact he made behind the scenes at London Colney.
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