Premier League Rumors: David Luiz Contract At An Impasse, Here's Why

Following reports that David Luiz and Arsenal FC have a mutual interest, most were expecting an agreement to be done soon. Unfortunately, it appears there have been new developments that have delayed the signing of a new deal.

It appears Luiz wants a two-year deal instead of the one proposed by the Gunners. Arsenal has the option to automatically extend his weekly pay of $148,000 by an extra 12 months. The current one Luiz has will expire on July 1.

The revelation of Luiz's new demands come not long after the Brazilian made a forgettable performance against Manchester City. Though one game is unlikely to change how Arsenal management looks at him, pitching a two-year pact may have come at a bad time. Now, it appears Arsenal management is unwilling to meet the demands of the Luiz camp. This places them in a worse situation with time running down.

In a previous post, it appeared that Luiz's tenure was safe and secure. Player agent Kia Joorabchian said that the chances of his client staying at Emirates Stadium was high. However, that did not include a change in demand by the Brazilian. It was never brought up and such have left everything at an impasse.

Despite both sides failing to come to terms, Joorabchian feels that all will be resolved by June 23. He appeared to pitch that this was their intent beforehand but the coronavirus caused the delay. Arsenal management is likely doing some pencil-pushing right now to address the situation. There is a chance that they may agree to a two-year deal but a lower salary. As most know, the club is suffering the financial pinch of the COVID-19 pandemic. If Luiz and Joorabchian are aware of this, they should expect such a counter-offer coming.

"The contract situation has dragged on not because of the will of David or Arsenal to finalize but really the situation that has occurred with the pandemic," Joorabchian said to talkSPORT.

Curiously, the player agent mentioned that other players have similar problems with the Gunners. No names were mentioned. However, it does indicate that Arteta and Gunners management still have a lot of loose ends to address moving forward.