Former Premier League star Willian has revealed how he begged his agent to arrange his exit from Arsenal just three months after joining the club.
The Brazilian winger, who now plays in Greece with Olympiacos, made the switch to the Gunners in 2020 after a successful spell at Chelsea. However, despite arriving at the Emirates with high hopes, it quickly became apparent that all was not well.
Willian had left Chelsea after failing to secure the three-year contract he wanted. The Blues were only willing to offer him a two-year extension, which led to his decision to join Arsenal, who were prepared to give him a longer deal.
But in a candid interview with Rio Ferdinand on his “Five” YouTube channel in 2021, Willian admitted that his time at Arsenal was anything but enjoyable, and it didn’t take long for doubts to creep in.
“I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t happy,” he recalled.
“That’s why I didn’t perform. I don’t want to go into the details. 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.”
Reflecting on his decision to push for an exit, Willian, who had previously starred for Chelsea during their title-winning campaigns, expressed regret over the move.
Despite his excitement at the prospect of a new challenge at Arsenal, he soon realised that it wasn’t the right fit for him.
The atmosphere under Mikel Arteta, who was still in the early stages of his managerial reign after replacing Unai Emery, didn’t inspire the former Brazil international.
“In football, big players played there before as well,” Willian added.
“But it didn’t work, it didn’t work. It was, of course, the most difficult time of my career.”
Willian endured a difficult 2020/21 season, playing for much of the campaign in empty stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite signing a lucrative three-year deal with Arsenal, he saw out just one season before reaching an agreement to terminate his contract. In doing so, he gave up significant sums of money to facilitate his exit.
“It was big money that I gave up [to leave Arsenal],” he explained.
“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.”
After parting ways with Arsenal, Willian returned to Brazil to rejoin Corinthians. But his stint back home didn’t last long, and he was soon back in the Premier League with Fulham, where he enjoyed a solid season before heading to Olympiacos last month.
Looking back on his departure from Chelsea, Willian reflected on how difficult it was to leave Stamford Bridge.
“It was difficult to decide, because I wanted to stay at Chelsea,” he said.
“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 [Arteta] as well. They showed me a good project, they showed me a lot of good stuff that they want to do.”
Though his time at Arsenal may have been brief and disappointing, Willian’s career continues, with the Brazilian once again seeking new opportunities on the pitch.