Country: England
Can't get over his first game. F*ck me, then gifting Cesc, what a ****.
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Willian Joins Arsenal
- Thread starter A_G
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Country: England
Can't get over his first game. F*ck me, then gifting Cesc, what a ****.
BigPoppaPump
Reeling from Laca & Kos nightmares
Great signing will be better than Ziyech for Chelsea.
Think I might have to leave also.
Losing both @GDeep™ and myself in one go would be a sad day for Arsenalmania.
Country: England
BigPoppaPump
Reeling from Laca & Kos nightmares
Proper Almunia level but we cut a him a lot of slack because he's a big name lmao.
Never letting the popularity contest effect the way I view players again.
Country: England
The bottom line is Willian can play Arteta’s idea of football
By James McNicholas and Jack Lang 1h ago
64
Controversy seems to be stalking Arsenal at present. There aren’t too many Premier League clubs who could sign a seasoned Brazil international and have it greeted with raised eyebrows.
Nevertheless, the free transfer arrival of Willian on a three-year contract has prompted fierce debate.
Some of the cynicism around the deal is entirely understandable. Chelsea have allowed a number of their experienced players to move to the Emirates Stadium over the past two decades — William Gallas, Petr Cech, and most recently David Luiz — with decidedly mixed results. At Arsenal, landing a player from a rival club has become regarded as a warning sign, with Mikael Silvestre’s 2008 move from Manchester United another notable example.
Willian is also the third of Arsenal’s last four permanent signings to be a client of Kia Joorabchian, prompting questions as to whether the club are casting the net sufficiently wide in the search for new recruits. Furthermore, a three-year deal for a player who just turned 32 feels generous.
The moralising appears to have partially obscured the quality of the player, though.
This is someone who has won six league titles, seven domestic cups, and twice lifted European silverware. While the perception in Brazil is that he has underachieved at international level, Willian has won 70 caps and a Copa America title. His seven years with Chelsea saw him win five major trophies and finish with a record of 63 goals and 65 assists from 343 appearances. He was once voted the Fans’ Player of the Year there, while his own team-mates made him the Players’ Player of the Year on two separate occasions, most recently at the end of the 2018-19 season. This, unlike Luiz a year ago, is a player Chelsea actively wanted to keep.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal believe they have added someone who can bring a winning mentality to their squad, as well as acting as a mentor for their younger players.
Speaking in November last year, Arteta’s Chelsea counterpart Frank Lampard said of Willian: “On the ball, we all know his ability. But his off-the-ball work is an outstanding example for Callum Hudson-Odoi, for Christian Pulisic, for other young players who think the only part of the game is going by people, crossing or shooting. He does the other side brilliantly, with absolute humility.” For Hudson-Odoi or Pulisic, read Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson or Emile Smith-Rowe.
Yes, Willian is at the age where players typically start to drop off. However, Arsenal have determined that he is not your typical player.
They have taken a calculated gamble, hoping the benefit of the Brazilian’s ability and experience outweighs the detriment of his decline.
Arsenal have tried to sign Willian before.
Sandro Orlandelli, who was their lead scout in South America for a full decade, identified his talents when he was still a teenager. “I recommended Willian before he had moved up to the first team at Corinthians,” Orlandelli explains to The Athletic. “I had a big advantage: I had actually trained him for a while, back when I was a youth coach at the club, and always had an instinct about him.”
Orlandelli saw in Willian a raw but remarkable talent.
“He played in bursts,” says Orlandelli, now technical co-ordinator at Red Bull Bragantino of the Brazilian top flight. “He did something, then disappeared, then did something else and disappeared again.
“That could have been an issue in the Premier League, where you have to run non-stop. But I saw that this wasn’t down to genetics. It was a behavioural thing, a result of the way he had been trained. Nobody had taught him that he always needed to be on the move. No one had demanded that. But I saw that he was intelligent and understood the game. I saw how explosive he could be. So I judged that his inconsistency was just a habit and something that could be worked on. That happened over the following years, allowing him to become the Willian you see today.”
Arsenal’s initial attempts to sign Willian were thwarted by his inability to qualify as an EU national — a fact he has recently rectified by passing the requisite tests for British citizenship, albeit at the third time of asking. Arsenal failed to land him as a promising youngster. Fourteen years on, Willian has finally arrived in north London — this time as the finished article.
Willian’s move to Arsenal sees him reunited with David Luiz. “I’ve known Willian since I was eight,” says the 33-year-old centre-half. “We played together when we were young in Sao Paulo. So we met each other at school, we played together until we were 10 or 11 and then he went to Corinthians, I went to Sao Paulo and then we met again in the (Brazil) Under-17s.”
The players moved to opposite sides of the European continent: Luiz to Benfica in Portugal, Willian to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk. Willian left Brazil aged just 19, and settled into a growing Brazilian community in Shakhtar’s squad. Between games he’d study the bible with Jadson and Fernandinho, and it was in Donetsk that he was baptised as an evangelical Christian.
Willian was wildly successful in Ukraine, winning four league titles, three domestic cups and the 2009 UEFA Cup. In 2013, he moved to Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala, who were in the midst of an ambitious project that had included recruiting Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto’o, Lassana Diarra and Christopher Samba. However, just eight months after signing Willian, billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov imposed dramatic budget cuts. The entire squad was put up for sale, including Willian, who attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs.
At the time, Arsenal were already engaged in early discussions with Real Madrid that would ultimately lead to Mesut Özil’s move to the Emirates Stadium. Willian’s suitors were Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Brendan Rodgers had enlisted Steven Gerrard to launch a charm offensive on the Anfield club’s part. Via text message, a conversation ensued in which Gerrard explained, “I think Liverpool would be a great move for you. The fans are amazing, the history is there and we’re building a good team. You could do something great here — and we’d love to have you.” Willian’s response? He was concerned the Anfield club could not offer him Champions League football.
There was also the lure of London to consider. Willian got as far as undergoing a medical at Sp**s, before Chelsea and their then-manager Jose Mourinho stepped in. The intervention of childhood friend Luiz helped tip the balance in their favour. “The Brazilians at Chelsea called me, especially David Luiz, who told me to come quickly,” says Willian. “I was very happy to have them around.”
Willian and Luiz have long been good friends in London (Getty Images)
The manner of his signing made Willian an instant Chelsea hero. It is reminiscent of the story of Emmanuel Petit, who held talks with Tottenham before then-chairman Alan Sugar unwittingly paid for a taxi to take him to Arsène Wenger’s house to meet the Arsenal manager and vice-chairman David Dein. Willian’s decision has been immortalised in song: “…they bought his flight, but Willian he saw the light. He got the call from Abramovich and off he went to Stamford Bridge. He hates Tottenham, he hates Tottenham.” Any enemy of Sp**s is a friend of Arsenal.
At Chelsea, Willian became the “non-stop” player Orlandelli had envisaged. He swiftly learnt the tactical discipline Mourinho required of him. By 2014, his new manager said: “I have Dr Paco Biosca, the doctor at Shakhtar Donetsk for many years with Willian, and he says he doesn’t recognise Willian now: the professional, the player, the commitment. The only thing he recognises is the talent.” Mourinho’s admiration for Willian is such that he later tried to take him to Manchester United.
That mission was doomed to fail. Willian quickly grew to love life in London, especially with Chelsea’s Brazilian clique around him. He had a close circle of compatriots in Oscar, Ramires, Filipe Luis, Diego Costa and, of course, Luiz. His twin daughters have grown up in the capital, where Willian and his wife have established a digital branding agency. Together, he and Luiz invested in a west London Italian restaurant called Babbo. With the help of a self-testing phone app, he eventually passed that pesky citizenship test. London has become his home.
When his contract ran out at the end of last season, Willian had offers from Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Miami of MLS and Arsenal to consider. It was Arsenal’s proposal that matched his preferences: the opportunity to remain in London, on a three-year deal. A move to the US would have been more lucrative, and Barcelona had offered a higher salary, but Willian was swayed by the vision presented by Arteta and technical director Edu.
Most concern among Arsenal fans relates to the length of that contract. In recent years, Arsenal have made a bad habit of handcuffing themselves to ageing stars.
Willian turned 32 on August 9. He arrives at Arsenal as a Champions League-calibre player, but it will be difficult to maintain that level until he is almost 35. Arsenal will hope a so far near-spotless injury record will slow the pace of his decline.
Arteta has backed the Willian deal throughout, and is insistent his team requires an injection of such ready-made quality. “Everything that comes through our door has to be something that significantly increases the level of the team,” he explained in July. “You need players that have the experience in the Premier League and they’ve done it here, so in terms of adaption the process it is much quicker.”
The coach prizes experience. It’s why Sokratis Papastathopoulos has remained among the core group, despite the fact that, from a technical perspective, he does not meet Arteta’s desired criteria for a central defender. Sokratis’s attitude has been exemplary throughout, and that’s in part why Arteta was prepared to use him in the final few minutes of last month’s FA Cup Final.
Willian ticks the “experience” box, but he can play Arteta’s idea of football too. Tactically, he opens up a number of possibilities. Although most of his football for Chelsea and Brazil has been played from the right, he is also capable of operating from the left or through the centre. Given Arsenal’s struggles to create goals from central areas, it would be no surprise to see him deployed in the No 10 role. He’s also an effective dead-ball expert with his right foot, something Arsenal arguably lack.
He joins a growing Portuguese-speaking enclave at Arsenal. As well as Brazilians Luiz and Martinelli, there is Cedric Soares, Pablo Mari and the bilingual Emi Martinez. The Athletic understands Edu hopes to add highly-regarded Brazilian physio Bruno Mazziotti to the contingent.
At Shakhtar and Chelsea, Willian was able to help foster a little community that felt like Brazil. Given Edu’s connections in the South American market, it may be a smart move to do the same. It’s telling that when Arsenal released the majority of their international scouts, they retained Jonathan Vidalle and Everton Gushiken in South America. Seven years ago, it was a phone call from Luiz that helped persuade the 25-year-old Willian to join Chelsea. Perhaps Arsenal’s burgeoning Brazilian community could help them attract the next generation of stars.
For now, Arsenal welcome Willian.
Where he came from and who his agent is will matter much less than the performances he produces. Time will tell whether this proves to be a good deal for Arsenal in the long-term. In the short-term, however, they appear to have got themselves a very good player.
By James McNicholas and Jack Lang 1h ago
Controversy seems to be stalking Arsenal at present. There aren’t too many Premier League clubs who could sign a seasoned Brazil international and have it greeted with raised eyebrows.
Nevertheless, the free transfer arrival of Willian on a three-year contract has prompted fierce debate.
Some of the cynicism around the deal is entirely understandable. Chelsea have allowed a number of their experienced players to move to the Emirates Stadium over the past two decades — William Gallas, Petr Cech, and most recently David Luiz — with decidedly mixed results. At Arsenal, landing a player from a rival club has become regarded as a warning sign, with Mikael Silvestre’s 2008 move from Manchester United another notable example.
Willian is also the third of Arsenal’s last four permanent signings to be a client of Kia Joorabchian, prompting questions as to whether the club are casting the net sufficiently wide in the search for new recruits. Furthermore, a three-year deal for a player who just turned 32 feels generous.
The moralising appears to have partially obscured the quality of the player, though.
This is someone who has won six league titles, seven domestic cups, and twice lifted European silverware. While the perception in Brazil is that he has underachieved at international level, Willian has won 70 caps and a Copa America title. His seven years with Chelsea saw him win five major trophies and finish with a record of 63 goals and 65 assists from 343 appearances. He was once voted the Fans’ Player of the Year there, while his own team-mates made him the Players’ Player of the Year on two separate occasions, most recently at the end of the 2018-19 season. This, unlike Luiz a year ago, is a player Chelsea actively wanted to keep.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal believe they have added someone who can bring a winning mentality to their squad, as well as acting as a mentor for their younger players.
Speaking in November last year, Arteta’s Chelsea counterpart Frank Lampard said of Willian: “On the ball, we all know his ability. But his off-the-ball work is an outstanding example for Callum Hudson-Odoi, for Christian Pulisic, for other young players who think the only part of the game is going by people, crossing or shooting. He does the other side brilliantly, with absolute humility.” For Hudson-Odoi or Pulisic, read Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson or Emile Smith-Rowe.
Yes, Willian is at the age where players typically start to drop off. However, Arsenal have determined that he is not your typical player.
They have taken a calculated gamble, hoping the benefit of the Brazilian’s ability and experience outweighs the detriment of his decline.
Arsenal have tried to sign Willian before.
Sandro Orlandelli, who was their lead scout in South America for a full decade, identified his talents when he was still a teenager. “I recommended Willian before he had moved up to the first team at Corinthians,” Orlandelli explains to The Athletic. “I had a big advantage: I had actually trained him for a while, back when I was a youth coach at the club, and always had an instinct about him.”
Orlandelli saw in Willian a raw but remarkable talent.
“He played in bursts,” says Orlandelli, now technical co-ordinator at Red Bull Bragantino of the Brazilian top flight. “He did something, then disappeared, then did something else and disappeared again.
“That could have been an issue in the Premier League, where you have to run non-stop. But I saw that this wasn’t down to genetics. It was a behavioural thing, a result of the way he had been trained. Nobody had taught him that he always needed to be on the move. No one had demanded that. But I saw that he was intelligent and understood the game. I saw how explosive he could be. So I judged that his inconsistency was just a habit and something that could be worked on. That happened over the following years, allowing him to become the Willian you see today.”
Arsenal’s initial attempts to sign Willian were thwarted by his inability to qualify as an EU national — a fact he has recently rectified by passing the requisite tests for British citizenship, albeit at the third time of asking. Arsenal failed to land him as a promising youngster. Fourteen years on, Willian has finally arrived in north London — this time as the finished article.
Willian’s move to Arsenal sees him reunited with David Luiz. “I’ve known Willian since I was eight,” says the 33-year-old centre-half. “We played together when we were young in Sao Paulo. So we met each other at school, we played together until we were 10 or 11 and then he went to Corinthians, I went to Sao Paulo and then we met again in the (Brazil) Under-17s.”
The players moved to opposite sides of the European continent: Luiz to Benfica in Portugal, Willian to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk. Willian left Brazil aged just 19, and settled into a growing Brazilian community in Shakhtar’s squad. Between games he’d study the bible with Jadson and Fernandinho, and it was in Donetsk that he was baptised as an evangelical Christian.
Willian was wildly successful in Ukraine, winning four league titles, three domestic cups and the 2009 UEFA Cup. In 2013, he moved to Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala, who were in the midst of an ambitious project that had included recruiting Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto’o, Lassana Diarra and Christopher Samba. However, just eight months after signing Willian, billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov imposed dramatic budget cuts. The entire squad was put up for sale, including Willian, who attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs.
At the time, Arsenal were already engaged in early discussions with Real Madrid that would ultimately lead to Mesut Özil’s move to the Emirates Stadium. Willian’s suitors were Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Brendan Rodgers had enlisted Steven Gerrard to launch a charm offensive on the Anfield club’s part. Via text message, a conversation ensued in which Gerrard explained, “I think Liverpool would be a great move for you. The fans are amazing, the history is there and we’re building a good team. You could do something great here — and we’d love to have you.” Willian’s response? He was concerned the Anfield club could not offer him Champions League football.
There was also the lure of London to consider. Willian got as far as undergoing a medical at Sp**s, before Chelsea and their then-manager Jose Mourinho stepped in. The intervention of childhood friend Luiz helped tip the balance in their favour. “The Brazilians at Chelsea called me, especially David Luiz, who told me to come quickly,” says Willian. “I was very happy to have them around.”
Willian and Luiz have long been good friends in London (Getty Images)
The manner of his signing made Willian an instant Chelsea hero. It is reminiscent of the story of Emmanuel Petit, who held talks with Tottenham before then-chairman Alan Sugar unwittingly paid for a taxi to take him to Arsène Wenger’s house to meet the Arsenal manager and vice-chairman David Dein. Willian’s decision has been immortalised in song: “…they bought his flight, but Willian he saw the light. He got the call from Abramovich and off he went to Stamford Bridge. He hates Tottenham, he hates Tottenham.” Any enemy of Sp**s is a friend of Arsenal.
At Chelsea, Willian became the “non-stop” player Orlandelli had envisaged. He swiftly learnt the tactical discipline Mourinho required of him. By 2014, his new manager said: “I have Dr Paco Biosca, the doctor at Shakhtar Donetsk for many years with Willian, and he says he doesn’t recognise Willian now: the professional, the player, the commitment. The only thing he recognises is the talent.” Mourinho’s admiration for Willian is such that he later tried to take him to Manchester United.
That mission was doomed to fail. Willian quickly grew to love life in London, especially with Chelsea’s Brazilian clique around him. He had a close circle of compatriots in Oscar, Ramires, Filipe Luis, Diego Costa and, of course, Luiz. His twin daughters have grown up in the capital, where Willian and his wife have established a digital branding agency. Together, he and Luiz invested in a west London Italian restaurant called Babbo. With the help of a self-testing phone app, he eventually passed that pesky citizenship test. London has become his home.
When his contract ran out at the end of last season, Willian had offers from Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Miami of MLS and Arsenal to consider. It was Arsenal’s proposal that matched his preferences: the opportunity to remain in London, on a three-year deal. A move to the US would have been more lucrative, and Barcelona had offered a higher salary, but Willian was swayed by the vision presented by Arteta and technical director Edu.
Most concern among Arsenal fans relates to the length of that contract. In recent years, Arsenal have made a bad habit of handcuffing themselves to ageing stars.
Willian turned 32 on August 9. He arrives at Arsenal as a Champions League-calibre player, but it will be difficult to maintain that level until he is almost 35. Arsenal will hope a so far near-spotless injury record will slow the pace of his decline.
Arteta has backed the Willian deal throughout, and is insistent his team requires an injection of such ready-made quality. “Everything that comes through our door has to be something that significantly increases the level of the team,” he explained in July. “You need players that have the experience in the Premier League and they’ve done it here, so in terms of adaption the process it is much quicker.”
The coach prizes experience. It’s why Sokratis Papastathopoulos has remained among the core group, despite the fact that, from a technical perspective, he does not meet Arteta’s desired criteria for a central defender. Sokratis’s attitude has been exemplary throughout, and that’s in part why Arteta was prepared to use him in the final few minutes of last month’s FA Cup Final.
Willian ticks the “experience” box, but he can play Arteta’s idea of football too. Tactically, he opens up a number of possibilities. Although most of his football for Chelsea and Brazil has been played from the right, he is also capable of operating from the left or through the centre. Given Arsenal’s struggles to create goals from central areas, it would be no surprise to see him deployed in the No 10 role. He’s also an effective dead-ball expert with his right foot, something Arsenal arguably lack.
He joins a growing Portuguese-speaking enclave at Arsenal. As well as Brazilians Luiz and Martinelli, there is Cedric Soares, Pablo Mari and the bilingual Emi Martinez. The Athletic understands Edu hopes to add highly-regarded Brazilian physio Bruno Mazziotti to the contingent.
At Shakhtar and Chelsea, Willian was able to help foster a little community that felt like Brazil. Given Edu’s connections in the South American market, it may be a smart move to do the same. It’s telling that when Arsenal released the majority of their international scouts, they retained Jonathan Vidalle and Everton Gushiken in South America. Seven years ago, it was a phone call from Luiz that helped persuade the 25-year-old Willian to join Chelsea. Perhaps Arsenal’s burgeoning Brazilian community could help them attract the next generation of stars.
For now, Arsenal welcome Willian.
Where he came from and who his agent is will matter much less than the performances he produces. Time will tell whether this proves to be a good deal for Arsenal in the long-term. In the short-term, however, they appear to have got themselves a very good player.
Tosker
Does Not Hate Foreigners
why? shouldn't we be looking forward when we sign a new player? why actually go searching for negativity - it's hardly in short supply without digging out old stuff
UpTheGunnerz
Vrei sa pleci dar una una iei
Player:Elneny
A new day, a new Gdeep threatening to leav AM?
Country: England
Country: England
lol the Athletic just in time to put a positive spin on things.
roz
Fake News Merchant
BigPoppaPump
Reeling from Laca & Kos nightmares
The bottom line is Willian can play Arteta’s idea of football
By James McNicholas and Jack Lang 1h ago64
Controversy seems to be stalking Arsenal at present. There aren’t too many Premier League clubs who could sign a seasoned Brazil international and have it greeted with raised eyebrows.
Nevertheless, the free transfer arrival of Willian on a three-year contract has prompted fierce debate.
Some of the cynicism around the deal is entirely understandable. Chelsea have allowed a number of their experienced players to move to the Emirates Stadium over the past two decades — William Gallas, Petr Cech, and most recently David Luiz — with decidedly mixed results. At Arsenal, landing a player from a rival club has become regarded as a warning sign, with Mikael Silvestre’s 2008 move from Manchester United another notable example.
Willian is also the third of Arsenal’s last four permanent signings to be a client of Kia Joorabchian, prompting questions as to whether the club are casting the net sufficiently wide in the search for new recruits. Furthermore, a three-year deal for a player who just turned 32 feels generous.
The moralising appears to have partially obscured the quality of the player, though.
This is someone who has won six league titles, seven domestic cups, and twice lifted European silverware. While the perception in Brazil is that he has underachieved at international level, Willian has won 70 caps and a Copa America title. His seven years with Chelsea saw him win five major trophies and finish with a record of 63 goals and 65 assists from 343 appearances. He was once voted the Fans’ Player of the Year there, while his own team-mates made him the Players’ Player of the Year on two separate occasions, most recently at the end of the 2018-19 season. This, unlike Luiz a year ago, is a player Chelsea actively wanted to keep.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal believe they have added someone who can bring a winning mentality to their squad, as well as acting as a mentor for their younger players.
Speaking in November last year, Arteta’s Chelsea counterpart Frank Lampard said of Willian: “On the ball, we all know his ability. But his off-the-ball work is an outstanding example for Callum Hudson-Odoi, for Christian Pulisic, for other young players who think the only part of the game is going by people, crossing or shooting. He does the other side brilliantly, with absolute humility.” For Hudson-Odoi or Pulisic, read Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson or Emile Smith-Rowe.
Yes, Willian is at the age where players typically start to drop off. However, Arsenal have determined that he is not your typical player.
They have taken a calculated gamble, hoping the benefit of the Brazilian’s ability and experience outweighs the detriment of his decline.
Arsenal have tried to sign Willian before.
Sandro Orlandelli, who was their lead scout in South America for a full decade, identified his talents when he was still a teenager. “I recommended Willian before he had moved up to the first team at Corinthians,” Orlandelli explains to The Athletic. “I had a big advantage: I had actually trained him for a while, back when I was a youth coach at the club, and always had an instinct about him.”
Orlandelli saw in Willian a raw but remarkable talent.
“He played in bursts,” says Orlandelli, now technical co-ordinator at Red Bull Bragantino of the Brazilian top flight. “He did something, then disappeared, then did something else and disappeared again.
“That could have been an issue in the Premier League, where you have to run non-stop. But I saw that this wasn’t down to genetics. It was a behavioural thing, a result of the way he had been trained. Nobody had taught him that he always needed to be on the move. No one had demanded that. But I saw that he was intelligent and understood the game. I saw how explosive he could be. So I judged that his inconsistency was just a habit and something that could be worked on. That happened over the following years, allowing him to become the Willian you see today.”
Arsenal’s initial attempts to sign Willian were thwarted by his inability to qualify as an EU national — a fact he has recently rectified by passing the requisite tests for British citizenship, albeit at the third time of asking. Arsenal failed to land him as a promising youngster. Fourteen years on, Willian has finally arrived in north London — this time as the finished article.
Willian’s move to Arsenal sees him reunited with David Luiz. “I’ve known Willian since I was eight,” says the 33-year-old centre-half. “We played together when we were young in Sao Paulo. So we met each other at school, we played together until we were 10 or 11 and then he went to Corinthians, I went to Sao Paulo and then we met again in the (Brazil) Under-17s.”
The players moved to opposite sides of the European continent: Luiz to Benfica in Portugal, Willian to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk. Willian left Brazil aged just 19, and settled into a growing Brazilian community in Shakhtar’s squad. Between games he’d study the bible with Jadson and Fernandinho, and it was in Donetsk that he was baptised as an evangelical Christian.
Willian was wildly successful in Ukraine, winning four league titles, three domestic cups and the 2009 UEFA Cup. In 2013, he moved to Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala, who were in the midst of an ambitious project that had included recruiting Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto’o, Lassana Diarra and Christopher Samba. However, just eight months after signing Willian, billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov imposed dramatic budget cuts. The entire squad was put up for sale, including Willian, who attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs.
At the time, Arsenal were already engaged in early discussions with Real Madrid that would ultimately lead to Mesut Özil’s move to the Emirates Stadium. Willian’s suitors were Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Brendan Rodgers had enlisted Steven Gerrard to launch a charm offensive on the Anfield club’s part. Via text message, a conversation ensued in which Gerrard explained, “I think Liverpool would be a great move for you. The fans are amazing, the history is there and we’re building a good team. You could do something great here — and we’d love to have you.” Willian’s response? He was concerned the Anfield club could not offer him Champions League football.
There was also the lure of London to consider. Willian got as far as undergoing a medical at Sp**s, before Chelsea and their then-manager Jose Mourinho stepped in. The intervention of childhood friend Luiz helped tip the balance in their favour. “The Brazilians at Chelsea called me, especially David Luiz, who told me to come quickly,” says Willian. “I was very happy to have them around.”
Willian and Luiz have long been good friends in London (Getty Images)
The manner of his signing made Willian an instant Chelsea hero. It is reminiscent of the story of Emmanuel Petit, who held talks with Tottenham before then-chairman Alan Sugar unwittingly paid for a taxi to take him to Arsène Wenger’s house to meet the Arsenal manager and vice-chairman David Dein. Willian’s decision has been immortalised in song: “…they bought his flight, but Willian he saw the light. He got the call from Abramovich and off he went to Stamford Bridge. He hates Tottenham, he hates Tottenham.” Any enemy of Sp**s is a friend of Arsenal.
At Chelsea, Willian became the “non-stop” player Orlandelli had envisaged. He swiftly learnt the tactical discipline Mourinho required of him. By 2014, his new manager said: “I have Dr Paco Biosca, the doctor at Shakhtar Donetsk for many years with Willian, and he says he doesn’t recognise Willian now: the professional, the player, the commitment. The only thing he recognises is the talent.” Mourinho’s admiration for Willian is such that he later tried to take him to Manchester United.
That mission was doomed to fail. Willian quickly grew to love life in London, especially with Chelsea’s Brazilian clique around him. He had a close circle of compatriots in Oscar, Ramires, Filipe Luis, Diego Costa and, of course, Luiz. His twin daughters have grown up in the capital, where Willian and his wife have established a digital branding agency. Together, he and Luiz invested in a west London Italian restaurant called Babbo. With the help of a self-testing phone app, he eventually passed that pesky citizenship test. London has become his home.
When his contract ran out at the end of last season, Willian had offers from Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Miami of MLS and Arsenal to consider. It was Arsenal’s proposal that matched his preferences: the opportunity to remain in London, on a three-year deal. A move to the US would have been more lucrative, and Barcelona had offered a higher salary, but Willian was swayed by the vision presented by Arteta and technical director Edu.
Most concern among Arsenal fans relates to the length of that contract. In recent years, Arsenal have made a bad habit of handcuffing themselves to ageing stars.
Willian turned 32 on August 9. He arrives at Arsenal as a Champions League-calibre player, but it will be difficult to maintain that level until he is almost 35. Arsenal will hope a so far near-spotless injury record will slow the pace of his decline.
Arteta has backed the Willian deal throughout, and is insistent his team requires an injection of such ready-made quality. “Everything that comes through our door has to be something that significantly increases the level of the team,” he explained in July. “You need players that have the experience in the Premier League and they’ve done it here, so in terms of adaption the process it is much quicker.”
The coach prizes experience. It’s why Sokratis Papastathopoulos has remained among the core group, despite the fact that, from a technical perspective, he does not meet Arteta’s desired criteria for a central defender. Sokratis’s attitude has been exemplary throughout, and that’s in part why Arteta was prepared to use him in the final few minutes of last month’s FA Cup Final.
Willian ticks the “experience” box, but he can play Arteta’s idea of football too. Tactically, he opens up a number of possibilities. Although most of his football for Chelsea and Brazil has been played from the right, he is also capable of operating from the left or through the centre. Given Arsenal’s struggles to create goals from central areas, it would be no surprise to see him deployed in the No 10 role. He’s also an effective dead-ball expert with his right foot, something Arsenal arguably lack.
He joins a growing Portuguese-speaking enclave at Arsenal. As well as Brazilians Luiz and Martinelli, there is Cedric Soares, Pablo Mari and the bilingual Emi Martinez. The Athletic understands Edu hopes to add highly-regarded Brazilian physio Bruno Mazziotti to the contingent.
At Shakhtar and Chelsea, Willian was able to help foster a little community that felt like Brazil. Given Edu’s connections in the South American market, it may be a smart move to do the same. It’s telling that when Arsenal released the majority of their international scouts, they retained Jonathan Vidalle and Everton Gushiken in South America. Seven years ago, it was a phone call from Luiz that helped persuade the 25-year-old Willian to join Chelsea. Perhaps Arsenal’s burgeoning Brazilian community could help them attract the next generation of stars.
For now, Arsenal welcome Willian.
Where he came from and who his agent is will matter much less than the performances he produces. Time will tell whether this proves to be a good deal for Arsenal in the long-term. In the short-term, however, they appear to have got themselves a very good player.
Is this an Athletic article?
Am I just bias or do they seem to write about Arsenal more than any other club?
BigPoppaPump
Reeling from Laca & Kos nightmares
Swear they're basically Arsenal propaganda at this point.
- Thread starter
- #155
It'll be like when Walcott and Giroud left in the same window.
Country: England
yeah its Athletic.
It's roughly the same amount of articles per club tbh. Half the teams in the league have a dedicated team of writers.
GDeep™
League is very weak
You and your BS. Like Gazidiz who signed Torreira? When it was Raul?
say yes
forum master baiter
Here’s Arteta’s interview: https://www.arsenal.com/news/arteta-how-willian-can-make-big-difference
Arteta really stressing how he has signed Willian for his versatility and character. Also said it was great for the club because he was free.
Genuinely think those three words tell us everything we need to know about this transfer. It seems like an opportunistic move by the club to strengthen our attacking options on the cheap, rather than a key signing.
Interestingly, he mentioned how Willian remains a top professional even when he is not starting every game, and never creates problems within the squad. Veiled dig at Mesut?
Arteta really stressing how he has signed Willian for his versatility and character. Also said it was great for the club because he was free.
Genuinely think those three words tell us everything we need to know about this transfer. It seems like an opportunistic move by the club to strengthen our attacking options on the cheap, rather than a key signing.
Interestingly, he mentioned how Willian remains a top professional even when he is not starting every game, and never creates problems within the squad. Veiled dig at Mesut?
BigPoppaPump
Reeling from Laca & Kos nightmares
It would be like when the Bulls lost Jordan and Pippen.
say yes
forum master baiter
Fixed.
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