David Luiz tells Arsenal not to panic ahead of Crystal Palace clash

Arsenal must stick to their philosophy despite a string of underwhelming performances.

David Luiz believes Arsenal are performing well in many respects and must not dwell on the recent Premier League defeat to Sheffield United.

Arsenal slumped to a lackluster 1-0 loss away from home on Monday, giving rise to criticism of the team’s character. Nicolas Pepe’s late intervention helped Unai Emery dodge further embarrassment in the Europa League as his side snatched an unconvincing 3-2 victory over Portuguese visitors Vitoria SC.

Emery acknowledged the dissatisfaction of fans following the Bramall Lane loss, but the experienced David Luiz wants his team-mates to remain true to their highly scrutinized playing style.

“We have to be honest about what went wrong, but we also have to be calm,” the centre-back told Sky Sports. “It is only our second defeat this season. We are doing many things well. We have to keep believing in our philosophy, we have to keep believing in our team, which is the best way for us to improve.

“Football is about the end, not the beginning, so let’s see how we finish at the end of the season in May.”

Arsenal’s next assignment is a home game against Roy Hodgson’s impressive Crystal Palace on Sunday. The teams are separated in fifth and sixth by a single point and David Luiz insists nothing less than a win will do.

“If you want to achieve big goals, you have to think about winning, winning, winning. It will be tough against Crystal Palace, but we want the three points. I want to win titles with Arsenal – that’s why I’m here.”

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