Soccer Football - FA Cup - Quarter Final - Sheffield United v Arsenal - Bramall Lane, Sheffield, Britain - June 28, 2020 Arsenal's David Luiz lines up before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Oli Scarff/Pool via REUTERS
Arsenal have started the 2020/21 season well as they beat Liverpool in the Community Shield on penalties in late August.
The start of the Premier League is only days away, but Mikel Arteta has been dealt a blow on the eve of the new campaign.
According to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, experienced centre-back David Luiz, who has 22 trophies to his name, is a major doubt for the Gunners’ first game of the season away to Fulham on Saturday lunchtime.
He has a neck injury and, depending on how he reacts to his treatment, he could be ruled out for an extended period.
Despite receiving a lot of criticism for some erroneous moments last season for the Gunners, Luiz has grown into a more solid player under Arteta, as evidenced by his dominant performance when he picked up the best SofaScore rating of any Arsenal player at Wembley (8.1) when the Gunners beat Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals in July.
In this game, he managed to keep City quiet by making 11 clearances and four interceptions at evening, whilst winning all of his four aerial duels as well as two of his three ground duels, per SofaScore.
He also started in the Community Shield win against Liverpool, which highlights that Arteta sees him as a trusted player for the first team, so his injury represents a setback for the north London side.
Gunners fans, how badly will Luiz be missed if, as expected, he is sidelined for the next while? Comment below with your views!
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