Arsenal star David Luiz celebrates his 34th birthday today. 

The divisive centre-back has been one of the most talked about players of his generation, a figure who teeters on the edge of disaster and genius with each and every outing. 

His excellent technical ability has enabled him to score stunning free-kicks, embark on mazy dribbles and split defences with piercing through balls. 

None of those qualities are what you'd typically associate with central defenders, but Luiz is no ordinary player. 

As well as being an incredibly gifted footballer, Luiz has developed a reputation as something of a wind-up merchant and a modern day expert in s***housery. 

Naturally, that has the capacity to wind people - and particularly those strikers he faces up against - up the wrong way. 

One player who has fallen into Luiz's trap in the Premier League is Sergio Aguero. 

The revered Argentine is a player renowned for his poise and composure and he has seldom lost his cool during his record-breaking career at Manchester City. 

However, he has revealed a darker side to his game in the company of Luiz. 

Brazil and Argentina are two of the fiercest national rivals in football.

The geographic proximity of the South American giants naturally contributes to the animosity between them, but the fact they regularly compete for the greatest of international honours gives this fascinating dynamic a deeper layer of hatred. 

And it's clear from two of the ugliest challenges in Aguero's career that Luiz has managed to get in his rival's head. 

During Man City's 2-1 win over Chelsea in an FA Cup semi-final back in 2013, Aguero dived in two-footed onto Luiz's hamstring as he rolled onto the floor and somehow received no punishment from referee Chris Foy. 

You can see the incident below: 

In the aftermath of proceedings, Aguero apologised to his fellow South American via his Twitter account. 

“I've contacted DavidLuiz-4 and apologized for what happened during the match.

“It was an impulse reaction that shouldn't have happened.”

But this wasn't the first and last time Aguero completely his head in an incident involving Luiz. 

He was at it again three-and-a-half years later. 

With City 3-1 down and heading towards their first home defeat of the season, Aguero began scuttling down the touchline with the ball at his feet.

A heavy touch saw him lose control of the ball and Luiz came across to complete a timely tackle but, in an act of pure malice, Aguero saw red and plunged his left leg high into the Brazilian's thigh.

The confrontation that ensued was tame in comparison to what you'd except from a challenge so blatantly designed to do damage to an opponent, but that could be explained by how markedly out of character this was from one of the all time greats. 

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Aguero was shown a red card for the challenge, which remains his only Premier League sending off to date.

You can see the incident in full below: 

Fernandinho was also dismissed for grabbing Cesc Fabregas by the throat in the brawl that followed.

On this occasion, City's all-time record goal scorer was deservedly banned for four games. 

We doubt Luiz is holding his breath for a birthday message from Aguero...