Arsenal defender David Luiz was offered a new contract at the club because he agreed to a significant reduction in his salary, according to Telegraph Sport.
The gunners’ decision to give Luiz a new deal this week was met with huge criticism after his poor performance against Manchester City this month.
Arsenal’s financial struggles were made worse by the coronavirus pandemic, which raised the possibility that the Brazilian had played his last game for the club.
Arsenal’s executives spent much of the last few weeks trying to work out whether they could afford to offer Luiz a new contract, before it was announced on Wednesday that he would be staying, along with Cedric and Pablo Mari, who has been signed for an initial £7m.
It is reported that the offers of new deals to all three players were actuallyvmade possible by Luiz, who previously earned around £120,000 a week, agreeing to a paycut.
Mikel Arteta and the club’s technical director Edu wanted David Luiz to stay due to his experience and leadership behind the scenes as much as his display on the pitch.
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Luiz’s history of playing in title-winning clubs is seen as crucial to a young team that is still developing. It is hoped that his experience will also help the adaptation of William Saliba, who will join the gunners at the end of this campaign.
Cedric is seen as someone who brings experience to the defence. He will be 32 at the end of his new four-year deal but there is an acceptance that players who arrive on a free command greater financial commitments because of the lack of transfer fee.
MATTEO GUENDOUZI SET FOR ARSENAL EXIT?
Meanwhile, it is reported that Matteo Guendouzi remains committed to ending the season with Arsenal before assessing his options ahead of a possible exit from north London.
The Frenchman’s disciplinary issues have twice caused him to be dropped from the team this calendar year and he is believed to have made it clear to the club he is not against leaving.
Arsenal will play Sheffield United in the FA Cup on Sunday and Arteta has said they cannot “copy and paste” Liverpool’s blueprint for success. Within Arsenal there is a belief that they could follow a similar trajectory to the Reds, who were also defeated in a Europa League final before rebuilding the team.
“We will try to emulate, not copy and paste,” said Arteta. “Something like this does not work. The context is completely different to what they had at that time. We have to adapt to our context, our situation, the players and the environment that we have, and let’s start making some decisions.”
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