Willian has revealed why his move from Chelsea to Arsenal turned sour, saying promises made by Mikel Arteta convinced him to leave Stamford Bridge despite his later regret over the decision.
The Brazilian winger joined Arsenal after several years at Chelsea, where he had established himself as a key player. However, his spell at the north London club failed to develop as he had expected.
Willian says Arsenal assurances were not fulfilled
Speaking on John Obi Mikel’s podcast, Willian said he was told he would become the central figure in Arteta’s plans.
“I met Arteta, I met everyone there. And they said ‘we want you to be the main guy’. Arteta said to me: ‘We’re going to play like this and I want you to be the main guy, I will build the team around you, I want to give you the key to the club’,” he said.
Willian explained that he had been weighing up his future while in the final year of his Chelsea contract. At 32, he was attracted by the prospect of remaining in London with his family for another three years.
“When I heard that, obviously I love Chelsea but I was in the last year of my contract, I was 32, and I was thinking three more years in London, stay with my family in London, they love London. And then I decided,” he said.
Looking back, Willian believes staying at Chelsea would have been the better choice.
“To be honest I should have stayed but at that moment I was thinking maybe the best solution is to go there, and I signed for three years there but it was not good,” he added.
Willian later had two spells at Fulham and also returned to Brazil, but his Arsenal campaign remains the period of his post-Chelsea career he most regrets.
