Willian disclose in a recent interview that he wanted to leave Arsenal after three months of signing, he also said his happiness was more important than money
By Kehinde Okeowo
Brazilian attacking midfielder, Willian Borges da Silva, better known as Willian, has disclosed he was frustrated during his time at the emirate and wanted to leave as early as three months into his contract.
The 33-year-old eventually rejoined Corinthians in the summer, after describing his time at Emirates Stadium as “the most difficult time”.
According to Goal.com, Willian was signed from rival club Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer of 2020, on a three-year contract, tying him to the Gunners till 2023.
However, the Brazilian having struggled to reach his best at Arsenal opted to leave the Emirates in August and rejoin his boyhood club Corinthians.
“So, when I arrived there I was happy, from the beginning I was motivated, I wanted to do well, new club, new mates, new projects.
“After three months, I told my agent ‘please, I want to go’. I don’t want to speak badly about the club because it is a big club, has a big history in football, big players played there before it’s a big club – but it didn’t work, it was, of course, the most difficult time of my career.” Willian said.
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The afro donning winger took a huge pay cut in his quest to leave Arsenal forfeiting two years of wages to terminate his contract.
He was more than willing to make that sacrifice to join his old club and rediscover his passion for the game.
He said: “Yeah, it was big money that I gave up – money is not the most important thing in life, you need to be happy, to be getting pleasure and wake up and want to go to training.
“I wasn’t having that, so I said to myself, with my family and my wife ‘I cannot stay here, I am not happy here, I have to leave and find a way out to leave the club.’ For me, it is unfair to stay in a place you don’t want to stay just because of the money.”
The Brazil international was one of the top midfielders in the Premier League during his seven-year stay at Chelsea, winning two league titles but was unable to replicate such form in the 37 games he played at Arsenal across all competitions.
The Gunners supporters were vocal in letting Willian know he fell below expectations, but the former Blues midfielder believed they were impatient with him because of his Chelsea link.
He added, “I received a lot of messages on social media from them and also because I came from Chelsea,” he said.
“I think if I came from another club it would have been better for them but also because I came from Chelsea and didn’t perform well – I think about that and say ‘I have to go.’
