David Luiz was fantastic against Manchester City: Van Persie and Rio Ferdinand


David Luiz was fantastic against Manchester City: Van Persie and Rio Ferdinand

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In Arsenal’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City, David Luiz performance was amazing to watch. In a 2-0-win, former England center-back Ferdinand and former Arsenal forward Van Persie saw David Luiz create a sequence of invaluable challenges, blocks and interceptions.

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David Luiz managed 11 clearances in the game. Match figures revealed of the centre-back appeared sturdy along with Shkodran Mustafi and Kieran Tierney establishing a strong back-three.

Ferdinand was amazed by the performance of David Luiz:

“Luiz was the standout performer.” – Ferdinand said.

“Every cross that came into the box, he was the man on the end of it most of the time, heading and putting his body on the line.

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“Defensively he didn’t put a foot wrong. When he plays in a three at the back – he did it under Antonio Conte as well at Chelsea – he looks a much better player.

“You get the security of numbers in terms of having two other defenders immediately alongside you as a centre-back, and it decreases the space between you.

“So, it is easier for him but you can’t take anything away from him: he was fantastic today.”

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David Luiz has faced a lot of criticism since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium. The Brazilian was sent off in the last game, Arsenal were thrashed 3-0 by Manchester City back in June. He was criticised of his sloppy challenges and sluggish performance as he also conceded a penalty to the Sky Blues.

“Luiz has come in for a lot of criticism in the last couple of seasons and a lot of it rightly so at times. He’s made a lot of mistakes and you get criticised for that. Today I think the way they set up helped him.” – Ferdinand added.

“Three centre-backs, they packed out the middle of the pitch, and they played with a defensive security. There was a stability about the way they played. They were composed defensively and they had a sharp edge on the counter-attack.

“When they went forward – minimal times over the course of the game because they were pushed back – they looked like a team who were very dangerous and capable of scoring and they got two very good goals.” – he concluded.

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Van Persie also praised David Luiz:

Van Persie also considered plenty to be appreciated to the game of David Luiz against City, having believed that Arsenal was facing ‘a difficult evening’:

“Tonight, he put his body in front of the balls he was blocking. I think he headed away maybe 25 balls tonight. He was absolutely fantastic.” – Van Persie said.

Also read: ”I was working hard every single day after my mistakes”: David Luiz