Arsenal have announced the signing of David Luiz from Chelsea on a two-year deal for a fee of £8m.
The Brazilian centre-back, who made 248 appearances for Chelsea across two spells with the club, underwent his medfinals.n transfer dadline day on Thursday after the two sides agreed a fee.
Luiz trained away from the rest of Frank Lampard’s squad on Wednesday after indicating he wanted to leave the club.
The 32-year-old is Arsenal’s second Deadline Day signing after they completed a £25m deal for left-back Kieran Tierney from Celtic.
Arsenal had been left short at centre-back after the departure of former captain Laurent Koscielny, who shocked the club by demanding a transfer with a year left on his contract.
The 32-year-old centre back has a wealth of experience and having made 524 club appearances in a career spanning 13 seasons.
Luiz started his career with Vitoria in Brazil, before moving to Portugal where he played for Benfica.
He also had two spells with Chelsea and spent two years in France with Paris Saint-Germain, where he played under Unai Emery. He has 56 international appearances for Brazil to his name.
Arsenal manager, Unai Emery said: “David has huge experience and I look forward to working with him again. He is a well known player and adds to our defensive strength.”
David will wear the number 23 shirt.
The transfer is subject to the completion of regulatory processes
Luiz began his first spell at Chelsea in 2011, before returning to Stamford Bridge in 2016 after a two-year spell with Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazilian stopper arrives Emirates stadium on the heels of Koscielney’s departure to Bordeaux of France.
Luiz made 36 EPL appearances for Chelsea. He started in all 36 and scored three goals with 144 clearances, the highest in the Stamford Bridge side.
He won four major trophies with Chelsea – two Europa League, 2012 Champions League and 2016/2017 Premier League.
Himself and defender Garry Cahill are the only players in Chelsea history to have played in three European trophy final wins, though Cahill also has three medals, but only played in 2 final
The Brazilian is the Gunners’ sixth signing after Nicolas Pepe, Dani Ceballos, Gabriel Martinelli, William Salib and Kieran Tierney.
According to the BBC, Arsenal signed Luiz in exchange for eight million euros, while they spent 151m euros in total in the summer transfer window.
The 32-year-old refused to train with his teammates this week and he handed in a transfer request, eyeing a move to the Gunners.
Luiz arrived in Europe to join Benfica in January 2007, before moving to Chelseafor 25m euros in 2011.
In 2014, Paris Saint-Germain signed him for 49.5m euros, only to sell him back to the Blues two years later for 35m euros.
In total he played 248 games for the club and he scored 18 goals, while he has earned 57 international caps with Brazil.
