Emmanuel Petit has blasted former club Arsenal for handing David Luiz a new contract, insisting the Brazilian must be "saying a prayer of thanks" to the directors.
The Brazilian, who received criticism after his sending off against Manchester City last week, was due to be out of contract at the end of the month.
But, amid speculation the 33-year-old had played his final game for the club, Luiz has now agreed fresh terms on a one-year contract, as Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari turned their loan moves into permanent four-year contracts.
Petit - who won the league title with Arsenal in 1998 - is not surprised by the news but believes Luiz is not at the level he once was.
"David Luiz hasn't been a proper footballer for about three years," he told Paddy Power. "But I'm not surprised that he has been given a new contract at Arsenal, because I've been very disappointed in relation to the club's activity in the transfer market.
"I've been particularly upset in relation to the defenders. We all know one of Arsenal's major weaknesses is their defence and nothing has changed. This makes me miss Arsene Wenger."
"If I was David Luiz, of course I would sign a new deal and I would also say a prayer of thanks to the Arsenal directors every time I wake up.
"Even when he last won the Premier League with Chelsea, he's not the same player any more. This guy has lost something.
"To be honest, it's a joke. Find some proper defenders. Are you telling me there are no young talented defenders on the market? I just don't get it."
The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder has blamed Arsenal's directors for their "disappointing" transfer activity, claiming they "don't know what they're doing".
"Does anyone think the Arsenal executives and directors know what they're doing on the football side of things?" he added.
"For the last few years they have been splashing out on the transfer market - and have brought in some decent players - but I don't know what their target or project for the future is.
"It's far worse now than in the last years under Wenger. What is the point of being one of the richest clubs on the planet with no reason or vision behind it?"
