The Brazilian wrote his name on the wrong side of the English top-flight history sheet, as the Gunners were silenced at the Etihad Stadium. David Luiz has matched Ibrahima Sonko ‘s unpleasant Premier League after giving Manchester City a penalty in the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal.
He is the first player to have handed out four penalties in a single top-flight season since Jose Fonte at Southampton in 2016-17, living up to his image as one of the most ineffective defensemen in European football. This category also includes the ex-Senegal international, Gary Caldwell, Claus Lundekvam, Ken Monkou, and Luc Nijholt.
The English topflight returned on Wednesday, after more than three months of suspension following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Luiz was brought in as a replacement for injured Pablo Mari with only 24 minutes into the first half and the hosts took advantage of his howler to take a first-half lead. Before the break, Raheem Sterling’s miserable miscalculation allowed him to fire past goalkeeper Bernd Leno-his’s first 2020 goal.
It got worse for the 33-year-old after he was disqualified by referee Anthony Taylor when the Citizens collected a penalty for a sloppy attack on Algeria ‘s international Riyad Mahrez.
Kevin de Bruyne scored two goals as Pep Guardiola went up before Phil Foden ended the damage at the closing stages of the game. With that, in August 2015, Luiz becomes the first player to be sent off from Carl Jenkinson for West Ham against Bournemouth, conceding a penalty and committing an error leading to a resistance goal in a Premier League match.
While at Reading, where he spent four seasons before moving to Stoke City, Sonko accomplished the coveted feat during the 2007-08 season and then loan spells at Hull City and Portsmouth.
The defender was signed by Championship Club Ipswich Town on a one-year contract after his release by the Potters before transferring to the newly promoted Turkish Süper Lig side Akhisar Belediyespor on 15 August 2012. The defeat of the Gunners at Etihad Stadium means they now have a slim chance to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
They are ninth in the log, having accumulated 40 points from 29 league games-eight points adrift from the fourth-placed Chelsea of Frank Lampard with nine games to play.
