Former Chelsea defender David Luiz was interviewed by ESPN Brasil this week, and had a little to say about his departure from the Blues.
Signed by Arsenal in a £8m deal last summer, the player claims he had decided to leave the Stamford Bridge side long before joining the Gunners.
“First of all, I was always very happy at Chelsea. And then the understanding of knowing that my cycle was over, even though I thought it wasn’t going to end that way, in a quick decision. I decided to leave Chelsea before I even had my doors open at Arsenal,” David Luiz told ESPN Brasil.
“I know that Arsenal didn’t come at a great moment, they had a weight on their defence, I go there and I’ll have to pay the restaurant bill without having eaten. But I’m going because I want something new for my life, I want to learn.”
It was of course a controversial move for him to sign for the London rivals, and that’s why he’s been a target for some heavy criticism. That, added to the fact that Arsenal hadn’t been doing great at the start of the season, made David Luiz think about the decision he’d made.
“It wasn’t easy at first. Not only of adaptation, but about taking the criticism, the sadness of many Chelsea fans for not understanding my personal decisions. My respect and love for Chelsea has always been true. It was difficult to deal with the emotional part, then playing, things were not happening on the pitch, the results weren’t coming.
“Unai is a great coach and a great person, but things weren’t happening for him either. So you get into a stir and try to stay upright, and strong. And I often wondered why this decision was made. Why is this happening?”
David Luiz first joined Chelsea in a £22.5m move from Benfica back in 2011. He stayed at the club until 2014, when he moved to PSG, and then returned two years later, in 2016, to stay in West London for three more seasons.
He left the Blues with 248 appearances for the club.
