Willian Cites 'Broken Promises' and Lack of 'Human Touch' in His Brief Arsenal Stint

Former Arsenal player Willian has detailed his "nightmare spell" at the club, stating that "broken promises" and a perceived lack of "human" management from Mikel Arteta led to his desire to leave just three months after joining. The Brazilian attacker, who is now 38, joined Arsenal in August 2020 on a three-year contract after seven successful years at Chelsea.

Willian's move to Arsenal was considered a significant signing for Mikel Arteta's team. However, his tenure at the Emirates Stadium was short-lived and largely unsuccessful, with the player scoring only once in 37 appearances before departing by mutual consent a year later. Willian later described his time at Arsenal as "the worst time that I had lived as a professional."

In an interview on "The Obi One Podcast" with former Chelsea teammate John Obi Mikel, Willian explained that he felt promises made by Arsenal's management, including Arteta, were not fulfilled. He stated that he was told he would be a "main guy" and that the team would be "built around" him. "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," Willian said. He later admitted, "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."

By November of his first season, Willian informed his agent that he wanted to leave. "I got frustrated," he added. "I am not saying it is their fault, but when you heard a lot of things and then you join the club, things that are not the same as what they told me, I got frustrated straight away."

He elaborated on the broken promises by saying, "It was more due to what I heard. I got frustrated from that because when I was there I saw some situations that I said to myself, it's not going to change. But it didn't work and because of that I couldn't play well or perform because I wasn't happy. When you are not happy you cannot perform. Money cannot buy happiness. It was the best contract of my life there, but I wasn't happy."

Following Arsenal's eighth-place finish in the Premier League that season, Willian requested to leave and subsequently moved to his boyhood club, Corinthians. He contrasted the mentality at Arsenal with that of Chelsea, where he had experienced consistent title challenges. "The mentality was totally different to Chelsea. You cannot compare. That's why I got frustrated also because the mentality was not the same in the club," he stated. Willian found it difficult that "nobody was pushing" younger players, which he felt contributed to a different standard within the club.

Willian also commented on Arteta's management style, noting that while he respected him as a coach, he felt Arteta missed key aspects of managing a team. "I have nothing against him. He's a great coach inside the pitch, his ideas are great but he missed little bits on how to manage the team. The human part, he was missing it. It's important, but inside the pitch he is good. I always joke they sold me a dream and it wasn't a good dream."