Former Premier League star Willian was not shy in explaining his feelings about his decision to leave Chelsea and join Arsenal.
Willian left the Blues in the summer of 2020 as a free agent to sign for the Gunners, where the Brazilian would go on to spend just one season at the Emirates Stadium.
The 36-year-old made 37 appearances across his one and only season with Arsenal but has previously admitted that he did not enjoy his time in North London.
After just one season at Arsenal, Willian left the Gunners to return to Brazil and sign for Corinthians where he would spend one year before returning to the Premier League to sign for Fulham in 2022.
It was during Willian’s time in Brazil that he first reflected on his time at Arsenal, where he admitted that he wanted to leave the Gunners after just three months at the Emirates.
“I wasn’t happy [at Arsenal], I wasn’t happy. That’s why I didn’t perform. I don’t want to go into the details,” Willian told the YouTube channel Five, hosted by Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand.
“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.
“In football, big players played there before as well. But it didn’t work, it didn’t work. It was, of course, the most difficult time of my career.
“It was big money that I gave up. 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. For me, it was that.”
Almost two years later and Willian was, again, speaking about his time at Arsenal, where he revealed he had regrets about leaving Chelsea.
Willian spent seven years at Stamford Bridge, during which time he made 339 appearances for the Blues and won five major trophies, including two Premier League titles.
“Yeah. I wish I’d never left [Chelsea],” Willian told Sky Sports in April last year.
“Of course it’s easy to say now, but when I stop and think about all the situations – I say to myself, ‘I wish I never left’. It’s life. I’m happy now at Fulham, enjoying myself there, this is life.”
