David Luiz has opened up on his move across London which saw him swap Frank Lampard’s new era at Chelsea for Unai Emery’s top-four chasing Arsenal.
The deadline day move blindsided many people, with the deal seeming to come from nowhere.
But ultimately, with the Gunners left short of experience at the heart of defence when Laurent Koscielny left for Bordeaux, the transfer was completed very swiftly.
The Brazilian defender has now admitted it was 'different ideas' between Frank Lampard and himself that made his mind up to leave Stamford Bridge.
“It is a new challenge in my career, where I took the decision to fight for new things and I enjoyed it in the best way possible,” Luiz told ESPN Brazil after making his Arsenal debut in the victory over Burnley on Saturday.
"In talks with Frank (Lampard), he had a different plan for the year. So we spoke in total honesty and he made it clear that he had different ideas from mine. So I had this opportunity to receive an offer from Arsenal, which is a great club."
With Lampard wanting to focus on youth for the immediate future at Stamford Bridge, it was unlikely that the 32-year-old would have seen much action this season.
It made the decision for Luiz to leave for Arsenal something of a no-brainer, with the centre-back replacing the Chelsea bench for an integral role at a side aspiring to return to the Champions League.
But despite realising it was time to leave, Luiz clearly still has a great affection for Chelsea and added: “I still respect Chelsea. It's never easy for people to understand everything that goes on.
"But my decision was also to respect Chelsea and their new manager, who wanted to implement a different philosophy at the club.
"And so I decided to get on this new journey, a new home, where I'll do everything to shine as well."
