“I regret leaving Chelsea for Arsenal” “I wish to go back” – Former Chelsea star reveals regrets after leaving Chelsea for Arsenal
Willian, a former Premier League player, was not afraid to express his emotions on his choice to join Arsenal and leave Chelsea.
As a free agent in the summer of 2020, Willian left the Blues to join the Gunners, where he would play for just one season at Emirates Stadium.
The 36-year-old has previously acknowledged that he did not enjoy his time in North London, despite making 37 appearances during his one and only season with Arsenal.
Willian departed Arsenal after just one season to sign with Corinthians in Brazil, where he would stay for a year before joining Fulham in the Premier League in 2022.
It was during Willian’s time in Brazil that he first reflected on his time at Arsenal, where he admitted that he wanted to leave the Gunners after just three months at the Emirates.
“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,” Willian told the YouTube channel Five, hosted by Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand.
“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.”
Almost two years later and Willian was, again, speaking about his time at Arsenal, where he revealed he had regrets about leaving Chelsea.