Willian with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during his brief spell at Arsenal(Image: Getty)

I wanted to quit Arsenal after three months – I told my agent I needed to leave

Willian was once one of the Premier League's most consistent performers, but he flopped badly at Arsenal after joining on a free transfer from Chelsea in 2020

26 Sep 2024, 08:00 by Mark Whiley · football.london

Former Premier League ace Willian pleaded with his agent to get him out of Arsenal just three months after signing for the club.

The midfielder made a surprise switch from Chelsea in 2020 after failing to agree a new contract at Stamford Bridge, with the Gunners offering a three-year deal instead. However, Willian, who now plies his trade in Greece with Olympiacos, quickly realised he had made a mistake and began lobbing his representative.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's Five YouTube channel in 2021, Willian confessed his dissatisfaction under Mikel Arteta, who was then in the early stages of his tenure following Unai Emery's departure. He recalled: "I wasn't happy. That's why I didn't perform. I don't want to go into the details."

He added: "When I arrived there I was happy, from the beginning I was motivated, I wanted to do well - new club, new mates, new project. But after three months, I said to my agent: 'Please, I want to go'. I don't want to speak bad about the club, because it is a big club. Arsenal has a big history.

"In football, big players played there before as well. But it didn't work, it didn't work. It was, of course, the most difficult time of my career."

Willian saw out the 2020/21 season, which took place behind closed doors due to the pandemic, before reuniting with former side Corinthians after having his Arsenal contract terminated two years early. He later returned to London with Fulham, before making the move to Greece last month.

Reflecting on his exit from Arsenal, Willian acknowledged the financial sacrifice. He added: "It was big money that I gave up [to leave Arsenal]. But sometimes money is not the most important thing in life. I think you need to be happy, get pleasure every day waking up in the morning to go to train. I wasn't having that.

"So I said to myself, with my family, I cannot stay here, I am not happy here. I have to leave, find a way out, leave the club, because if I stay I am going to stay the same. For me, it's unfair to stay in a place that you don't want to stay just because of the money. For me, it was that."

Willian didn't gel with Mikel Arteta and left Arsenal after just a year(Image: Getty)

Willian also opened up about his departure from Chelsea, highlighting contractual disagreements. He explained: "It was difficult to decide, because I wanted to stay at Chelsea.

"But I wanted a three-year contract and Chelsea say: 'No, we want to give you two years'. At the end of the season, I decided to join Arsenal and also because before we had conversations with Edu and Mikel as well. They showed me a good project, they showed me a lot of good stuff that they want to do. It was because of that."

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