My family told me not to depart Chelsea for Arsenal – I must have listened | Football

Chelsea hero Willian has revealed that even ‘members of the family’ were concerned about his decision to depart Stamford Bridge and join London rivals Arsenal.

Willian spent seven enjoyable and successful years at Chelsea following his £30m move from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013.

The Brazilian made not less than 40 appearances in each of his seven seasons in west London, amassing over 300 appearances for Chelsea and scoring 63 goals.

Willian helped the Blues win two Premier League titles – the primary under Jose Mourinho and the second under Antonio Conte – the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.

The previous Shakhtar Donetsk winger was named as Chelsea’s recent No. 10 in August 2019 but was announcing his departure lower than a 12 months later, claiming it was the ‘right time to maneuver on’.

Willian was heavily linked with Premier League rivals Arsenal during his final few weeks at Chelsea and indeed signed a three-year take care of the Gunners lower than every week after his Stamford Bridge exit.

Mikel Arteta was confident the Brazil international would ‘really make a difference for us’ but that didn’t materialise, with Willian leaving the next summer having scored only once in 37 appearances.

Willian later described his spell at Arsenal because the ‘worst time’ of his skilled profession and has now revealed that even ‘members of the family’ were concerned after he left Chelsea.

‘I wanted a three-year contract and Chelsea were only offering a two-year deal, so I ended up not renewing my contract,’ Willian told HBO Max.

‘During those negotiations, Arsenal began showing interest. Many individuals say I should never have left Chelsea, members of the family as well.

‘Once I got there, it was a transition period, quite a lot of players left the club, others got here in. I played throughout the pandemic as well, and that didn’t help. I couldn’t hook up with the fans; the stadiums were empty.’

Willian still had two years left on his lucrative Arsenal contract when he reached an agreement with the Gunners to depart and sign for boyhood club Corinthians.

Reflecting on his Arsenal spell on Manchester United and England legend Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel, Willian said: ‘I wasn’t blissful [at Arsenal], I wasn’t blissful.

‘That’s why I didn’t perform. I don’t wish to go into the main points. Once I arrived there I used to be blissful, from the start I used to be motivated, I desired to do well – recent club, recent mates, recent project.

‘But after three months, I said to my agent: “Please, I need to go”. I don’t wish to speak bad concerning the club, since it is an enormous club. Arsenal has an enormous history.

‘In football, big players played there before as well. But it surely didn’t work, it didn’t work. It was, after all, essentially the most difficult time of my profession.

‘It was big money that I gave up. But sometimes money isn’t a very powerful thing in life. I believe you could be blissful, get pleasure every single day waking up within the morning to go to coach. I wasn’t having that.

‘So I said to myself, with my family, I cannot stay here, I’m not blissful here. I actually have to depart, discover a way out, leave the club, because if I stay I’m going to remain the identical.

‘For me, it’s unfair to remain in a spot that you just don’t wish to stay just due to the money. For me, it was that.’

Willian has had two spells back within the Premier League with Fulham since leaving Arsenal in 2021. He’s currently playing for Brazilian club Gremio.

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