David Luiz has revealed staff at Chelsea were begging him to return, just days after his sensational switch to Arsenal last August.
The Brazilian centre-back made a surprise £8 million move to the Emirates in the summer transfer window after ending his second spell at Chelsea.
Luiz played for the Blues between 2011 and 2014, and 2016 and 2019 and won the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup twice during a bountiful spell at Stamford Bridge.
Given such success, and his status as a Chelsea fans’ favourite, Luiz has admitted he struggled to cope with leaving Frank Lampard’s side initially.
“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,” Luiz told the OTRO YouTube channel.
“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?’”
Luiz insists he has overcome such reservations now, however, and is completely focused on helping the Gunners recapture their former glories.
“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.”
According to the Sun, Arsenal are poised to trigger the extension clause in Luiz’s contract to keep him at the Emirates until 2021, after the centre-half established himself as a pivotal figure in Mikel Arteta’s team.
