#PremierLeagueStories – #MikelArteta tells #DavidLuiz his performances can earn new Arsenal contract #AFC

David Luiz, like a number of players at Arsenal, is out of contract this summer. The 33-year-old is free to talk to clubs from other countries to sign a pre-contract agreement ahead of a free transfer in the summer. But he could also earn a new deal to remain at the Emirates Stadium. Luiz initially joined the Gunners on a one-year deal in August 2019 and earned a one-year extension last season. And there is a chance for him to make it a third year with the Gunners, as manager Mikel Arteta has outlined, telling the veteran centre-back how he can remain a part of the Arsenal set-up into the 2021/22 season. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Arteta said: "We will see what happens [with his contract]. There's a lot of things happening around the club, lots of decisions to make and I don't want to rush any decisions, I just want the players to be focused, they know they have six months, eight months left, some of them a year, we cannot change all the contracts right now. "We have been in a difficult period in the last few weeks and I want people to focus on football, if you do what you have to do on the football pitch you will deserve the chance to stay with us if this is what you want." Luiz has been in and out of the team due to injuries this season and he returned from his latest setback in the FA Cup win over Newcastle on Saturday, playing 120 minutes of football. Arteta was impressed with what he saw. He added: "David has had a really difficult season, he had three different things that have kept him away from training and games, that's unusual for him because he's normally available, so he's had to deal with that and then he had to play the other day 120 minutes and I think he was exceptional. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. "The way he handled the game against a difficult number nine like Andy Carroll and to play 120 minutes, at his age, with not much training, I really liked what he did." And Arteta likes what he sees from Luiz off the pitch too, with a number of young players being blooded into the first team at the Emirates. "He's fantastic, one of the leaders in the dressing room," Arteta admitted. "He's one of the most experienced players, he's won everything in the game, he's so good with the young kids, when you look at people who can help and be a role model, he's always with them, supporting them, giving them confidence and advice, it's great to have him around."