Arsenal have completed the signing of David Luiz from Chelsea for a fee of £8m.
The centre-back only signed a new two-year deal at Stamford Bridge in May, however, the player made a late push to join Arsenal and trained separately from the squad on Wednesday.
Reports of a split between the Brazilian and Frank Lampard are set to be addressed in a press conference on Friday, though it’s believed Luiz had fallen behind Andreas Christiansen and Kurt Zouma in the club’s pecking order and was wary of a lack of playing time under the new manager.
Luiz first joined Chelsea for £22m from Benfica in 2011 and won a Champions League and FA Cup under Roberto Di Matteo in his first full season in west London.
He left the club in 2014 to join PSG for £50m – a then world record transfer fee for a defender – and spent two seasons at Les Parc des Princes where he won back-to-back Ligue 1 titles.
However, Luiz returned to Chelsea two years later for £34m where he won a second Premier League and Europa League title before forcing a move across London.
Unai Emery, who worked with Luiz at PSG, said his experience can help strengthen the Gunners’ troublesome defence. “David has huge experience and I look forward to working with him again,” he said. ”He is a well known player and adds to our defensive strength.”
Luiz follows the £25m signing of full-back Kieran Tierney after a summer of protracted negotiations with Celtic.
Tierney underwent a medical at London Colney on Thursday before putting pen to paper on a five-year deal at the Emirates.
