Arsenal News: Hatred towards Willian led him to walk away from Arsenal

Arsenal News: Former Arsenal winger, Willian has admitted that it was the constant abuse from the fans which led to his decision to leave the club in the summer. Willian had terminated his three-year contract from Arsenal and returned to his native country, Brazil. He is currently playing for Corinthians since the beginning of the season.

Arsenal had signed Willian on a free transfer from Chelsea. During his time at Chelsea, he won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Europa League, too. He brought his experience to Arsenal, who were struggling for the past couple of seasons.

Willian had a bright start at Arsenal but he had lost his form and confidence really quickly. Moreover, he lost the respect and love for the Arsenal fans.

Inevitable hatred on social media was one of the few reasons Willian departed from the club. In Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast, Willian disclosed “I had received a lot of messages on social media from the fans.”

He further added, “It only happened to me because I came from Chelsea. If I would have been from some other club, then things would have been different.”

“I came from Chelsea, where I performed well and everything was happy. So I always thought about that and thought ‘I have to go’.”

Arsenal News: Willian’s time at the Emirates

Willian had a perfect start to his time at Arsenal. He registered his first hat-trick of assists against Fulham on his Premier League debut. Then started his downfall at the club as he only managed one assist in his next seventeen Premier League matches. It was Bukayo Saka who overtook his position in the Arsenal ranks.

Willian’s passion and desire to play for the Gunners began to diminish, along with his form and confidence. He added, “I was just not at all happy. That is why I was not able to perform. I don’t want to get into the details. When I arrived at Arsenal, I was motivated and wanted to do well. I had a new club, new mates, and new projects. But after three months, I told my agent ‘please, I want to go’. I don’t want to speak badly about Arsenal, as it is a very big club with a prestigious history. A lot of big players have played at Arsenal.”

By the end of the season, Willian was so disheartened that he terminated his contract and walked away from up to £20.5m.

Willian still had two years left on his Arsenal contract, but he made a decision and returned to his native land. He gave up the weekly wages that he was entitled to at his time at the North London club.

In his defense, he added, “Money is not everything and yes, I did give up a big amount of money. You need to be happy in life and have the desire to go to training every day.”

Furthermore, he explained, “I was not happy at all at Arsenal and wanted to leave as soon as possible. I told my wife and family that I need to find a way out of the club. For me, it was difficult to stay at a club just for the sake of money.”