Jamie Redknapp has raved about Arsenal central defender David Luiz in The Daily Mail.
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was impressed with the performance produced by the Brazil international central defender during Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Premier League rivals Manchester City in the semi-finals of FA Cup at the weekend.
Playing in a three-man defence, Luiz was an absolute rock at the back and kept the City attackers at bay.
According to WhoScored, the 33-year-old played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 69%, won four headers, took 48 touches, and made one tackle, four interceptions and 11 clearances.
Redknapp, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, was impressed with the display produced by Luiz, and believes that Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta is getting the best out of him.
Redknapp wrote in The Daily Mail about Luiz: “Like him or loathe him — and I like him — Luiz is never boring to watch.
“He’s a box-office footballer and when he is having a good day, you’d be hard pressed finding a better defender.
“Without him on Saturday, Arsenal would not have kept a clean sheet against Manchester City and made it to the FA Cup final. Kudos to Mikel Arteta, because I credit his choice of system with bringing the best out of Luiz.
“It plays to the Brazilian’s strengths, just as it did when Antonio Conte’s Chelsea won the Premier League title using 3-4-3 in 2016-17.”
Important player for Arsenal
That Arsenal decided to keep Luiz for next season underlines that they rate the former Chelsea star highly.
True, the Brazilian – who can also operate as a defensive midfielder – does make mistakes from time to time, but overall he is a good defender with a wealth of experience.
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