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David Luiz says he left Chelsea after frank discussions with Blues boss Frank Lampard, with their 'different ideas' ultimately sealing the Brazilian's fate.

The 32-year-old completed an £8million move to Arsenal earlier this month.

The Gunners made a late window move to land the experienced centre-back, having seen captain Laurent Koscielny defect to Bordeaux.

Luiz brought a close to his second spell at Stamford Bridge, signing a two-year deal in North London, and admits he simply didn't fit into Lampard's plans.

(Image: Julian Finney)

Speaking after making his debut in Arsenal's 2-1 Premier League win over Burnley , Luiz told ESPN Brasil : "It was a great pleasure.

"It is a new challenge in my career, where I took the decision to fight for new things and I enjoyed it in the best way possible.

"In talks with Frank [Lampard], he had a different plan for the year. So we spoke in total honesty and he made it clear that he had different ideas from mine.

"So I had this opportunity to receive an offer from Arsenal , which is a great club."

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

Had Luiz remained at Chelsea this term, he would likely have been fourth choice at the club for whom he made 248 appearances during two separate spells.

Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen have started the campaign as Lampard's central defensive pairing, with Antonio Rudiger currently working his way back from injury.

Being an unused substitute in the final pre-season friendly with Borussia Monchengladbach confirmed to Luiz that he needed to move on, but he added: "I still respect Chelsea. It's never easy for people to understand everything that goes on.

"But my decision was also to respect Chelsea and their new manager, who wanted to implement a different philosophy a the club.

"And so I decided to get on this new journey, a new home, where I'll do everything to shine as well."