David Luiz Gives Perfect Response To Critics After Heroic Display Against Man City

Arsenal defender David Luiz has slammed fierce criticism he has received this season after a scintillating performance against Manchester City.

The 33-year-old Brazil international was snapped up from Chelsea last summer for a reported fee of £8m.

But Luiz, who signed a new contract extension with the Gunners, has been blasted for his inconsistency and errors for Arsenal this season.

The former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea star silenced his critics on Saturday after he put in a phenomenal shift in Arsenal's 2-0 win in the FA Cup semi-final.

"There was a lot of criticism of me, I think you can say that," Luiz told BT Sport after the match.

"That's part of football. I understood during my career that part of football is about surviving.

"Every day you're going to defend your team, and the other people are going to support different teams.

"It's about surviving, so that's what I did. I was working hard every single day after my mistakes. I took the blame, I was mature enough to understand that. I was also humble [enough] to work more for the team.

"We have a final to play this season. We are going to try to win a title for this club because this club, I always say, deserves to shine again."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice at Wembley and ensured Arsenal punched their ticket to the final on 1st August.

The Gunners will take on either Manchester United or Chelsea, who will play in the other semi-final clash at 6pm today.

Luiz has warned his fellow teammates that Arsenal still need to make substantial progress before challenging for any major trophies.

"It was a great result against one of the best teams in the world. We were humble and understood the way we have to play. We took the opportunities to score," he explained.

"We have to be mature to understand the levels we are at in the process. We have an amazing coach who wants to bring us the best football for this club, but not zero to a hundred.

"We have to understand that day by day. The spirit was great and I am happy for the team because this team deserved it.

"The team understood, in modern football, how everyone has to defend, fight, have the spirit, play every ball 100 per cent.

"It would be easier to keep the ball, maybe, and not run like we did, Aubameyang was miles away in front of us, but we are humble. [We knew that] when you play, you can [then] hurt the opponents."

Featured Image Credit: BT Sport

Topics: Manchester City, Football News, gunners, Football, david luiz, Premier League, FA Cup, Wembley, Arsenal

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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