'Not very enjoyable' - Ex-Arsenal free agent transfer flop opens up on Gunners exit
The Brazilian star enjoyed a fruitless spell with the Emirates in 2020/21
Former Brazil international and Fulham star Willian has opened up on his brief time at Arsenal. The left winger signed for the Gunners in August 2020, after seven years with Chelsea, but departed the following summer and described his time at N7 as “the worst time I lived as a professional.”
Three years on and back in the Premier League competing for Arsenal’s London rivals Fulham, the 35-year-old has spoken to the Brazilian media about his short stay in north London.
“I arrived when Arsenal was going trough an overhaul, changing a lot of things internally and I arrived in the middle of it,” Willian said to ESPN Brasil. “I’d wanted to go there, I’d spoken to Arteta too, to Edu. I arrived motivated, very happy and, as time went by, things didn’t work out the way we’d hoped for various reasons.”
At the end of his tricky season, some tried to convince Willian to stay but he could not be swayed: “When it came to the end of the first season, I spoke to them and said: I don’t think it’s going to work out here. I’m a player who needs to feel happy where I am, and here I can’t find myself.
“So we decided to terminate my contract, but Arsenal always wanted me to stay, to try for another year. I think the main factor was that I caught the club in the middle of a revamp, changing everything. A lot of people have said: ‘Wait a bit longer, have a bit of patience.’
“But you know when you’re not feeling happy? When you’re in a place just for the money, it’s not very enjoyable, you know? Going somewhere just for the contract. And I’m not that kind of person, I have to feel good. It’s difficult for a player to leave England and come back. And I cam back. I think it was a learning experience too.”
Following his single campaign at the Emirates, in which he scored just one goal and contributed seven assists in 37 appearances, he returned to his former club Corinthians for one more season before heading back to the Premier League with the Cottagers. He has so fr netted ten goals and added seven assists in 67 appearances for his side and while there is currently no update on his future, Fulham are expected to make a move to renew Willian’s contract for another year.