Arsenal defender David Luiz claims Chelsea staff pleaded with him to return to club

David Luiz

David Luiz has admitted that it "was not easy" to leave Chelsea for Arsenal last summer.

The Brazilian moved across London on transfer deadline day, ending his six-year association with the Blues.

Luiz won a Premier League title, the Champions League, two FA Cups and two Europa Leagues across two spells at Stamford Bridge.

And the centre-back has revealed that several staff members at Chelsea were sad to see him go.

“I can be honest with you, the first three days or week was not easy to understand all the emotions or how I was feeling, because everybody knows my history with Chelsea," he told Otro.

“I had this connection with everyone at the club. It was so massive and big and I was missing every single one. 

“Every text message I was receiving, people were saying: ‘Come back, come back, come back, come back, we are here for you’.

“I give you the example of a gentleman there who is 75 years old. He was having breakfast with me at the time when he had the opportunity.

“He was texting me: ‘I am still waiting for you here to have breakfast again’.

“This kind of thing was so difficult for me, because I am someone that sees the heart as the most important thing.

“But then after that, in the professional way, I was saying: ‘It is a new moment for you. It is another big thing for you to do. Maybe if you stay in the comfort zone it is not going to be the best thing for you?’”

However, Luiz still believes that he made a wise choice in moving to the Emirates Stadium.

“It was a top decision. [Arsenal] are a big club. I want to make this club improve and to shine again. The first days were difficult but after that I started to adapt.

“Now I am so happy and I want to do big, big things with Arsenal.”

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).