David Luiz is proving a hit at Arsenal both on and off the field, according to teammate Calum Chambers.
Luiz, 32, joined the Gunners in the summer from London rivals Chelsea and scored the winner as Arsenal beat Bournemouth 1-0 on Sunday to move to third in the Premier League.
The Brazil defender has won 15 major honours during his career and, despite question marks over his concentration at times, he was signed to add a wealth of knowledge to the Arsenal backline.
…and breathe! ?
? 1-0, to the Arsenal ?#ARSBOU
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 6, 2019
Sunday featured his first Arsenal goal and maiden clean sheet for Unai Emery’s side, who sit just a point behind reigning Premier League champions Manchester City heading into the international break.
Chambers revealed that, not only has Luiz made a difference on the pitch, his presence around the training ground and dressing room has also not gone unnoticed.
‘David has been brilliant, he has come in and no one in the club has a bad word to say about him,’ he said.
‘He is one of the nicest guys I have met, he talks to you, gives you advice and makes everyone feel like he is giving you his undivided attention.
‘Off the pitch, he is a great guy and on the pitch he brings his qualities and is playing well at the moment.
‘He brings some added experience, obviously he has won things and I haven’t won as many things as he has, so there are things I can learn from him both on and off the pitch, it is always good to have experience like that in the team.’
Even though Arsenal sit in the Champions League places, with just one defeat so far this season away to early pacesetters Liverpool, Chambers feels there is still room for improvement in the coming weeks.
Asked if there was still more to come from the team, the defender replied: ‘Yes, we have got a really strong squad, a lot of quality players.
‘We know we have got quality and we can see that, we have just got to keep working hard and believing in ourselves and the results will keep on coming.’
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe bemoaned a lacklustre first half from his players as they slipped to another Emirates Stadium defeat.
We chased hard for the equaliser, but we had you with us all the way.
Thank you for your support in #ARSBOU this afternoon ? pic.twitter.com/ajjUg4qRI3
— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) October 6, 2019
The visitors rallied after the interval and had the better of the contest without truly testing Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal.
‘I think the second half we played very well, everyone got on the ball and we started to play football,’ midfielder Philip Billing told afcb.co.uk.
‘It is a bit of a shame we only did it in the second half and not the first half because we showed how good a team we can be. We created a lot of chances and pressed Arsenal to a point where they didn’t really know what to do.
‘It is a tough one to take and after the second half I think we deserved something and could have got a point or maybe even three.’