After former club captain Laurent Koscienly forced through a shock departure this summer, Arsenal look to have found a replacement for the Frenchman on deadline day, with Chelsea's David Luiz reportedly close to signing for the Gunners.
The Brazilian has emerged as a target for Unai Emery's side, after he reportedly told their North London rivals that he'd be keen on a move to the Emirates on deadline day.
The 32-year-old was a key player for the Blues last season, as they secured a third place Premier League finish and won the Europa League, beating Arsenal in the final.
However, it looks like Frank Lampard is happy to let Luiz leave this summer, with a move to Arsenal reportedly close to completion.
So, how will David Luiz perform for Arsenal next season?
Will they improve defensively?
We used Football Manager 2019 to have a bit of fun and try to predict what would happen if David Luiz joined on deadline day.
David Luiz to Arsenal
Current Ability: 151/200
Age: 32
Positions: CB/DM
Best attributes: Aggression (17), leadership (17), bravery (17), determination (17), tackling (16), anticipation (16), work rate (16), jumping reach (16), natural fitness (16).
According to Football Manager 2019, David Luiz is one of the best central defenders in the Premier League, with some strong attributes in all areas.
But, his average concentration (11), decisions (11) and composure (12) attributes suggest that Luiz is prone to the odd mistake, which is well documented.
His current ability is 151 out of 200 on FM, to put that into context, that's the same as Gunners defenders Sokratis and Hector Bellerin, but a lot better than Shkodran Mustafi (144), so he would certainly be a quality addition.
To set up this simulation, we used a fan made editor file to sort out all the latest player transfers, manager changes, promotions, relegations, cup winners and playoff winners, to make the game as realistic as possible. This includes Dani Ceballos, Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli joining the club and Laurent Koscielny leaving.
The only thing that wasn't accurate is the fixture list, which is different to the 2019/20 season schedule already confirmed by the Premier League.
We then loaded up the Football Manager editor, set a £5 miillion transfer which saw David Luiz move from Chelsea to Arsenal on August 8, 2019 and then simulated the 2019/20 season, to see Luiz performs for the Gunners.
Here's what happened.
David Luiz' stats for Arsenal 2019/20
The 32-year-old went straight into the Arsenal first team and became a key part of Unai Emery's defence.
Here are his stats for the 2019/20 season for Arsenal.
The Brazilian made 46 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners, scoring one goal and providing one assist, earning an average rating of 7.00 overall, which isn't bad at all.
Luiz won 35 of the 46 matches he was involved in for Arsenal, making 213 tackles (85% success rate), 1,057 passes (82% success rate), 149 interceptions and created six goalscoring chances overall.
However he did make seven major mistakes, which is poor, and was extremely lucky that none of these lead to a goal.
He wasn't afraid of shooting either, having 24 shots on goal, but only three were on target!
David Luiz memorable performances for Arsenal in 2019/20
Arsenal 1-0 Liverpool
Early on in the season, Luiz played a major part in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Liverpool, putting in an excellent performance to deny Salah and co.
Chelsea 0-2 Arsenal
Luiz saved one of his best performances for the game against his former club Chelsea, as the Gunners got a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal 4-0 Sevilla
Later in the season, Luiz played a major part in Arsenal's 4-0 win over Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-final, with Pepe, Iwobi and Aubameyang doing the damage at the other end.
Arsenal's best XI in 2019/20
David Luiz was a key part of the Arsenal first XI in 2019/20, with Mustafi the best of the other central defenders.
Iwobi and Pepe were key parts of the Gunners attack, with Aubameyang used mostly upfront.
Arsenal's Premier League finish in 2019/20
Luiz's arrival lead to Arsenal having an excellent season domestically, as they finished second in the Premier League.
The Gunners won 84 points, seven behind champions Man City, but two ahead of Liverpool in third.
In terms of goal conceded, Emery's side saw a big improvement with Luiz in the side, conceding 40 goals in 38 games, 11 less than in 2018/19.
This strong defensive base gave Arsenal the confidence to thrive in attack, as they scored 85 goals in 2019/20, 12 more than they managed last season.
Arsenal's cup results in 2019/20
Their strong domestic season was followed up by European success too, as they won the Europa League in 2019/20.
The Gunners beat fellow Premier League side Manchester United on penalties in the final, but David Luiz did miss a penalty!
Overall, Football Manager 2019 predicts that if Arsenal manage to get David Luiz over the line on deadline day, it will improve them defensively and offensively next season.
