Mikel Arteta has outlined his view for David Luiz acting as a mentor figure for Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba during their first seasons at Arsenal.
Despite being in just his second year at the club, the 33-year-old has grown into one of the most influential players in the dressing room since Arteta took over.
Alongside this, he was key in helping Kieran Tierney, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli settle into the first team last season. A task he will be entrusted with yet again in the 2020/21 campaign.
"I think he is a really good role model for them, for who David is as a person and as a player and everything he has achieved in the game – I think they are lucky to have him around," Arteta said when asked on the impact Luiz can have on his young centre-backs.
So far, the Spaniard has only used Gabriel in competitive football. The Brazilian made a surprise debut on the opening day of the Premier League season, scoring a header and keeping a clean sheet to help Arsenal to a 3-0 win over Fulham.
The 22-year-old followed this up with another impressive performance against West Ham, although the nature of his display differed. Facing Michail Antonio, Gabriel was given a much more physical test, which he rose to throughout the game to help give the Gunners a platform to secure a late winner.
As for Saliba, he featured in friendlies against MK Dons and Aston Villa, as well as the Under-23s' 2-2 draw with Brighton but is yet to make a competitive first team appearance despite being at the club longer than Gabriel. Arteta was keen to stress this had no reflection on the Frenchman's ability.
"I think William [Saliba] is doing really well," he added.
"He is adapting to the country, adapting to our club. We have to bear in mind that he had a really challenging season last year with the amount of injuries that he had.
"But he is a player that is going to be really important in our future, things sometimes take some time and we have to respect that.
