My family told me not to leave Chelsea for Arsenal – I should have listened

Chelsea hero Willian has revealed that even ‘family members’ were concerned about his decision to leave 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 at least 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 first under Jose Mourinho and the second under Antonio Conte – the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk winger was named as Chelsea’s new No. 10 in August 2019 but was announcing his departure less than a year later, claiming it was the ‘right time to move on’.

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

Mikel Arteta was confident the Brazil international would ‘really make a difference for us’ but that failed to materialise, with Willian leaving the following summer having scored just once in 37 appearances.

Willian later described his spell at Arsenal as the ‘worst time’ of his professional career and has now revealed that even ‘family members’ 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 started showing interest. Many people say I should never have left Chelsea, family members as well.

‘When I got there, it was a transition period, a lot of players left the club, others came in. I played during the pandemic as well, and that didn’t help. I couldn’t connect to 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 leave 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 happy [at Arsenal], I wasn’t happy.

‘That’s why I didn’t perform. I don’t want to go into the details. 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.’

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

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