Former Arsenal Winger Willian: Arteta Lacked the Human Touch

Former Arsenal winger Willian has revealed he wanted to leave the club just three months after arriving at the Emirates Stadium, claiming Mikel Arteta and the board failed to deliver on their promises. The Brazilian joined the Gunners on a three-year contract in 2020 following seven successful seasons across London at Chelsea.

The winger explained that the Spanish manager had promised to build the team around him, which never materialized. "I met with Arteta and other people at the club. They told me: 'We want you to be the main man.' Arteta told me: 'We will play this way and I want you to be the main man. I will build the team around you, I want to give you the keys to the club.' When I heard that, I decided to accept. To be honest, I should have stayed at Chelsea," the Brazilian admitted.

"I was frustrated. I'm not saying it's their fault, but when you hear so many things and then you arrive and it's not what they promised, you get disappointed immediately. Three months in, I told my agent that I wanted to leave and that I made a big mistake leaving Chelsea," Willian added.

The Brazilian admitted that while it was the most lucrative contract of his career, it did not bring him happiness. "When you're not happy, you can't perform well. Money can't buy happiness. It was the best contract of my life, but I wasn't happy. I have nothing against Arteta. He is a fantastic coach on the pitch, his tactical ideas are great, but he lacked something in terms of man-management. He lacked the human side. That's important. I always joke that they sold me a dream, but it turned out not to be a very nice one," Willian explained.

The Brazilian spent just a single season with Arsenal, scoring once in 37 appearances across all competitions, before terminating his contract by mutual consent to return to Brazil with Corinthians.