Will defend David Luiz with everything because I believe in him, asserts Mikel Arteta

Even though David Luiz was not in the starting XI in the away match against Manchester City, but Mikel Arteta had to field him in the 24th minute, after Pablo Mari suffered an injury. It was due to his careless defending that City scored the first goal in the dying minutes of the first half. The situation became worse when the Brazilian conceded a penalty and was sent-off in early in the second half, just 25 minutes after he set his foot on the pitch. Even after the debacle, the Arsenal manager stated that he is going to defend the footballer with everything, with his contract set to expire soon.

"We need to be fair on him. Me personally, I am going to defend him with everything I have because I believe in him. He has shown me a lot of things in his time here and his career speaks for itself. We cannot forget the financial situation. The way Covid-19 has hit every club and the economy in general, it is going to have an impact,” said Mikel Arteta, as reported by The Guardian.

"What the club is doing at the moment is assessing the situation and trying to clarify a lot of uncertainties that we have in the future.I will have to make big decisions but timewise it is difficult to fit them in our needs. We are trying our best and it is difficult sometimes because the player or our sporting necessities in a difficult situation, but again we have to adapt. It is what it is."

David Luiz was roped in by the North London club last summer as a replacement for the outgoing Laurent Koscienly. His journey at the Emirates has been a topsy-turvy one, with his future now hanging in the balance as the suspension will see the center-back miss out the next two games. But with Arsenal's third game being played next month, his cameo against Manchester City might have been his last game for the Gunners.

Furthermore what shocked many was that Arteta left out Mesut Ozil from the 20-man squad on Wednesday' match, especially against a strong side like Manchester City. When asked about the matter, Arteta was quick to point out that it was a 'tactical .'

“I have been very open with Mesut from day one. Since I joined I thought that he was fit and he was willing and he wanted to perform at the level he can do. He has played every game with me, I think. So that is it. The moment I see that he is ready again to do that, I will treat him like anybody else. I think I have been more than fair with him and I think he has responded in many games the way I want. That’s it," added the manager.