"It just didn't work" - Former Chelsea star admits he made a mistake by leaving the London club
Willian has admitted that he regrets leaving Chelsea to join Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer of 2020.
The Brazilian winger spent seven seasons with the Blues, where he won two Premier League titles and won the club's 'Player of the Year' award twice. However, he was left frustrated by Chelsea after he was only offered a two-year contract in 2020.
Willian ended up joining the Gunners, who offered him a three-year deal. However, his time with the north London giants was less than impressive as he left them on a free transfer just one year later.
The 70-cap Brazil international managed to score just once and provided seven assists in his 37 games across competitions for Arsenal. He left the Emirates to return to Corinthians before rejoining the Premier League last summer when he signed for Fulham as a free agent.
An absolute stunner 🚀
Willian’s worldie against Nott’m Forest is @budfootball Goal of the Month for February!
#PLAwards | @FulhamFC https://t.co/1EXcFeIE4h
The 33-year-old was recently asked on Sky Sports if he regretted leaving Chelsea, to which he replied (h/t Metro):
"Yeah, I wish I’d never left. Of course, it’s easy now to say something but when you stop to think about all the situations I say to myself ‘I wish I never left. They (Arsenal) are flying now.
He added:
"I think it was in the middle when things were changing a lot. I was excited when I signed with them, I was training hard but it just didn’t work and that’s it."
Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League table after 26 games with a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City. Things, however, weren't as rosy when Willian was at the Emirates.
It was manager Mikel Arteta's first full season in charge of the club, where they ended up finishing eighth in the league table.
Chelsea secure 3-1 win against Leicester City to continue winning run
Chelsea secured a 3-1 league win against Leicester City earlier today (March 11) to make it three wins in a row in all competitions.
GOAL Leicester 1-2 Chelsea (45+6 mins)
A brilliant scoop pass from Enzo Fernandez to Kai Havertz who cooly dinks Danny Ward
#LEICHE
Patson Daka canceled out Ben Chilwell's 11th-minute opener before Kai Havertz handed his team the advantage once in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time. Mateo Kovacic scored the third 12 minutes from time to ensure back-to-back league wins for Chelsea for the first time since October.
This is also the first time they have scored more than two goals in a game since their 3-0 league win against Wolves on October 8. The west London giants are 10th in the table with 12 games still left to play this season.
Their recent form would, however, offer some much-needed respite to their fans. Chelsea are also through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 (2-1 on aggregate) on March 8.