DEAL! Arsenal complete David Luiz transfer three hours after deadline
Football
By
Mirror
| Aug 09, 2019
Arsenal have completed the signing of David Luiz from Chelsea in an £8million deal.
The Brazilian defender has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the Gunners after he expressed his desire to move across London.
Luiz only penned a new two-year contract at Stamford Bridge earlier this year, having impressed under Maurizio Sarri last term.
But after being an unused substitute in last weekend's final pre-season friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach, he feared being only a bit-part player under new boss Frank Lampard.
Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen are expected to start the campaign as Chelsea's first-choice pairing, with Germany international Antonio Rudiger soon set to return from injury also, leaving 32-year-old Luiz as fourth choice.
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Thus, after issues at the club's Cobham training base earlier this week, Lampard gave the green light to letting Luiz depart.
Luiz did not train with the Chelsea first team on Wednesday before he finalised his move across London.
The Gunners quickly furthered their interest and agreed a fee with the Blues, as well as personal terms.
The deal is believed to have been helped by Luiz sharing agent Kia Joorabchain with Arsenal transfer chiefs Edu and Raul Sanllehi.
Everton also expressed an interest, with Marco Silva keen to add another defender to his squad.
The move sees Luiz reunite with Unai Emery, with whom he worked briefly at Paris Saint-Germain before his return to Stamford Bridge for a second spell in 2016.
Unai Emery said: "David has huge experience and I look forward to working with him again. He is a well-known player and adds to our defensive strength."
Emery has been looking to bolster his defensive ranks this term, particularly having lost Laurent Koscielny following his move to Bordeaux.
RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano was pursued, but proved too expensive, while Juventus also wanted in excess of £30million for Italy international Daniele Rugani.
The Gunners also signed French youngster William Saliba earlier in the summer, but he instantly returned to Saint Etienne on loan to continue his development.