David Luiz Talks About Leadership and the Future

Arsenal defender David Luiz says that he hopes he has a few more years left at the top level. The 32-year old is not thinking about retirement yet. Luiz joined the Gunners from Chelsea in August on an £8m deal and he says that he feels fitter than ever. “I want to be a coach […]
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sambafoot_admin
2019-10-23 23:24:00

Arsenal defender David Luiz says that he hopes he has a few more years left at the top level. The 32-year old is not thinking about retirement yet.

Luiz joined the Gunners from Chelsea in August on an £8m deal and he says that he feels fitter than ever.

"I want to be a coach when I am 40," he told the Telegraph. "Before that I want to play football as much as I can, at a high level. And that is going to be until I am 36, 37, 38.

"I work with my body every day. I have people working with me for more than five hours a day. This season my physical numbers are better than when I was 28.

"I am just trying to be me. The emotions are going to be real, because I really love this. The day I stop loving football is the day I stop playing."

Arsenal defender David Luiz says that he takes his role as a leader seriously and tries as much as he can to help his teammates.

The Brazilian has always been popular with teammates for his affability and he says he tries to use that in his role as a senior player.

"The first thing they taught me about being a leader is to live for others, to be a collective person," he told the Telegraph.

"In my life I have tried to do that. I just try to be as natural as I can, to make the others feel comfortable. I take pleasure from helping others. It makes me happy.

"To see Gabriel [Martinelli] scoring his first goal and looking towards his family — this gives me pleasure. To see Bukayo [Saka] playing at 18 years old in a big club — this gives me pleasure.

"I was playing in the third division when I was 18! To see Hector [Bellerin] come back from his injury with such hunger — this gives me pleasure."

Luiz is also hoping to use his experience to build belief in the Gunners squad, "The more you win, the more you believe, the more it becomes easier," he says.

"It starts to become automatic. You know what you have to do, you know the mentality. We have the potential.

"We have talented players, experienced players, a team with quality, a club where they give us all the conditions to fight. We have amazing support. What more do we need?"

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