The former attacker for Arsenal, Willian, has said that one of the reasons he struggled with the North Londoners was because he missed the excitement of the fans. Despite this, Willian has nothing but respect for the club that he previously played for. The football player, who is now 34 years old, has also said that once he finishes his playing career, he intends to work in the football agency industry.
After an outstanding run of seven years at Chelsea, a great deal of anticipation surrounded Arsenal’s signing of Willian, who was then 31 years old and had moved there on a free transfer. However, the transfer was unsuccessful for both parties since Willian only played in 37 games for the club and contributed to eight goals during that time. Not only that, but the now 34-year-old player’s troubles resulted in the mutual termination of his contract in the summer of 2021, and he then moved on to play for Corinthians in Brazil.
What did Willian say?
It caused a lot of people to question why Arsenal recruited the former Chelsea star in the first place, especially considering how much abuse the Brazilian received when he was playing for the club. Nevertheless, despite this, Willian has said that he has “great respect for Arsenal” and that he feels the team has the potential to do well this season. He also said that one of the reasons he suffered was because he missed the fans since the club was playing its games behind closed doors, and he said that this was one of the reasons he struggled.
“For most of the season, we were playing without fans (because of COVID-19). I didn’t see Arsenal fans. Maybe I needed to feel the buzz of the crowd, that it was something I missed. It was a difficult moment not just for me, but for everyone in the world. To play without fans at a new club is not easy,” Willian said.
