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Tag: willian

  • Arsenal need more from Willian and Aubameyang – Arteta

    Arsenal need more from Willian and Aubameyang – Arteta

    Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits they need more from Willian.

    Arteta was asked today for an assessment of the midfielder’s first season with the Gunners.

    He said, “I think we can reach a higher performance level because his potential is so big. He needs the contribution to the team and the team to be stable in order to provide what he needs to express himself on the pitch. It’s true that in recent weeks we’ve seen a much better version of him and his contribution when he is playing has been really positive. So it’s going to be crucial, his form, for the performance of the team in the last two months.”

    Arteta was also asked about the form of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

    He added: “I think the whole team and myself have to put in better performances than we did against Liverpool, that’s for sure.”

  • Willian admits Arteta axe at Arsenal tough to take

    Willian admits Arteta axe at Arsenal tough to take

    Arsenal winger Willian admits being dropped by the Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has been tough to take.

    Willian started 12 of his first 14 Premier League games under Mikel Arteta but then found himself slipping down the pecking order over the festive period as Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe continued to impress.

    “t really was a very difficult start, apart from that first game against Fulham, where I had a good performance, I managed to make a good game,” Willian said in an interview with ESPN Brazil.

    “Even after that game there were some games that we won, I even had a good game, but then we ended up getting a bad streak.

    “I also got a bad streak and I think my worst professional time to date, since I went up at Corinthians and was sold to Ukraine, then I arrived at Chelsea, without a doubt. This phase that passed now was the worst time that I think I lived as a professional.

    “Of course, when you live in a difficult moment, you get really upset and try to find solutions, a way to improve, try to help the team.

    “That’s what I’ve been doing all this time, I never stopped training, to work, to dedicate myself as much as possible.

    “It took a little while to leave, but lately in the last games I’ve been playing well again, standing out with assists, playing well. So I’m happy to be back to find my good football.”

  • Arteta showers praises on Willian after win

    Arteta showers praises on Willian after win

    Arsenal head coach, Mikel Arteta has heaped praises on Willian for his display in their win against Leicester City.

    The winger contributed two assists in their 3-1 win against the foxes after providing one assist midweek against Benfica.

    It capped off a fine individual performance from the Brazilian forward, as Mikel Arteta is delighted that he is starting to see the best of him.

    “He was really good,” Arteta said during his post-match press conference. “We’ve seen that in training the last few weeks. He’s rebuilding himself and he’s not accepted the situation.

    “I think he was the player who changed the game against Benfica in the last few moments when he came on, and today I think he was terrific.

    “The same with the other senior players. Laca, I think the way he played, Nico grew in the game and had a big impact as well. Granit as well. A player who has played that many minutes, to play with the heart and the passion he showed in every action, I think it’s a great example for the rest of the players.”

  • EPL: I never left Chelsea on bad terms – Willian

    EPL: I never left Chelsea on bad terms – Willian

    Arsenal attacker Willian says he never wanted to leave Chelsea last summer.

    The midfielder joined the Gunners on a free transfer in August last year, which was, at the time, seen as a coup for the north London side.

    In an interview with UOL Esporte, Willian admitted that he never wanted to leave the Blues, but they refused to offer him a three-year contract.

    “It was difficult to make that decision,” Willian said. “Because… the rivalry between the two clubs is very big. It was well thought out… talking to my wife and even the agent many times.

    “I didn’t leave the club with a fight, I left the doors open. Everyone knew the conditions, I really wanted to stay.

    “We ended up not finding an agreement, I ended up asking for three years, Chelsea wanted to give two, and everyone knows this story. That’s why I ended up leaving.”

    With all of the experience that Willian has in the top-flight, Arsenal fans will be hoping he can turn his form around.

    He also said, “One of the things that made me decide to go to Arsenal was really the various conversations I had with Mikel Arteta, with Edu too. They convinced me that I’d be a very important player in the squad.

    “They wanted to change the philosophy of the club, to make it possible for Arsenal to fight again in the Premier League, to play in the Champions League again.”

  • Don’t worry about Willian, Luiz calms Arsenal fans

    Don’t worry about Willian, Luiz calms Arsenal fans

    Arsenal defender David Luiz has come to the defense of fellow countryman Willian.

    Luiz was asked about the winger, who has not hit the ground running since arriving from Chelsea in the summer.

    But Luiz believes that Willian is still a quality player, despite being in his 30s, and will show that quality in an Arsenal shirt this season.

    “The person Willian, few people know him. But those who know, can’t not say that they love him. Because everyone loves him as a person”, David Luiz told ESPN Brasil.

    “The player Willian everyone knows. And everyone knows Willian’s potential. And he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone after so many years at the high level. And he’s a moment which it’s not so pleasant at the individual level because things are not happening.

    “But he’s an experienced, intelligent guy, who knows what he should know, what he must do every day. You don’t see Willian murmuring to train, you don’t see Willian not training. He’s always dedicated, he’s looking for the best, to improve, to grow. You don’t see Willian with an ugly face on the bench. All those things.

    “So he’s a guy who will go through this, he will go through this moment and he’ll still bring a lot of joy to Arsenal, to this club. Because there’s this turbulence, just as I had in the first months. I’s not easy, you change clubs, from one rival to another, you have all the cannons facing you.

    “Everything you do people will compare. Supporters on one side who loved you are sad because you left and are nervous. Supporters on the other side, who cheered against you, are like, ‘I’m not going to like this guy who came from the other side’.

    “You end up feeling, in a way, just a little until you adapt. My first months weren’t easy, and that’s what I try to pass on to Willian. ‘Calm down, things will work out, things will happen. Just keep working because you’re you, there’s no way to change.

    “You’re a great person and you’re a great player. Calm down. Things are going to happen’. That’s what we try. Everyone already loves Willian here, so I know that things will happen in the best possible way soon.”

  • Arsenal hero: Arteta should never have signed Willian, Luiz

    Arsenal hero: Arteta should never have signed Willian, Luiz

    Arsenal hero Alan Smith says David Luiz and Willian shouldn’t be with the club.

    Smith believes Arteta made a mistake with deals for David Luiz and Willian.

    He told the Evening Standard: “I was surprised when he re-signed David Luiz, and I was surprised when he brought Willian into the club.

    “That’s costing a lot of money in wages, and it would have been nice to have gone for youth rather than a couple of players that have achieved everything really they need or want to in the game.

    “I thought that was a mistake by him.”

  • We didn’t have money for Arsenal midfielder Willian – Mourinho

    We didn’t have money for Arsenal midfielder Willian – Mourinho

    Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho insists he never considered signing Willian before he joined Arsenal.

    Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s North London derby, Mourinho revealed Spurs didn’t have the money to enter a bidding war with Arsenal for the former Chelsea star.

    “We don’t have money for Willian,” he said.

    “We cannot pay the wages that he gets at Arsenal so I didn’t want to waste our time because we cannot pay these wages.

    “He is still dangerous, he is still one of the best players in the Premier League. Apart from that, he is a good friend. I have nothing to hide in relation to that.

    “We keep in touch, we keep in contact, we call each other. We wish good things to each other. He is my friend and of course he is a very good player.”

  • I’ve never had a coach of Arteta’s mindset – Willian

    I’ve never had a coach of Arteta’s mindset – Willian

    Arsenal midfielder Willian admits he’s still adjusting to the methods of manager Mikel Arteta.

    The Brazilian forward swapped life at Chelsea to move across London in the summer on a free transfer and is already a regular feature in Arteta’s side.

    “It’s been a cool, new experience. I hadn’t worked with a coach with that mindset,” Willian told Globo Esporte.

    “The positional game doesn’t mean that you have no freedom on the pitch, you have the freedom to move, but many times you have to respect the position, what the coach asks, the instructions, understanding that it’ll be better for the team.

    “It may happen that you don’t touch the ball and get frustrated, but Mikel always says that, wait a minute, the ball will arrive. I’ve been learning a lot.”

  • ‘Willian was wooed by Arteta to Arsenal’

    ‘Willian was wooed by Arteta to Arsenal’

    Willian bought into Mikel Arteta’s “incredible project” at Arsenal, according to his agent Kia Joorabchian, who says the ex-Chelsea star was “wooed” by the Arsenal boss.

    Arsenal announced the arrival of Willian on a free transfer on August 14, as they snapped up the winger on a three-year deal following his departure from Stamford Bridge.

    Joorabchian says that a lucrative £220,000 per-week deal was not the main draw to Emirates Stadium for his client, who was blown away by the current Arsenal head coach’s long-term vision for the club.

    “With Willian, there’s no secret he wanted a three-year contract, but the Mikel Arteta project was just incredible,” the agent told talkSPORT.

    “He was very much wooed by Mikel and [technical director] Edu, and what Mikel presented to him and the way he wants to play football, the way he wants to continue and the success he wants to bring to Arsenal, made the difference.

    “That’s what he said and that’s exactly what it was.”

  • OFFICIAL: Arsenal confirm signing Willian from Chelsea

    OFFICIAL: Arsenal confirm signing Willian from Chelsea

    Arsenal football club have confirmed signing former Chelsea’s winger, Willian on a three-year contract.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Brazil international becomes the first signing of the summer for the Gunners after joining on a free transfer.

    The 32-year-old left the Blues after his contract expired with the Stamford Bridge outfit.

    “Brazil international @WillianBorges88 has signed a three-year deal to join us ahead of the 2020/21 season,” Arsenal confirmed via its official Twitter handle on Friday.

    Meanwhile, according to the club’s manager, Mikel Arteta, Willian will make a big impact for us – both on and off the pitch.

    “I believe he’s a player that can really make a difference for us. We have been monitoring him for the past few months, we had a clear intention to strengthen in the attacking midfielder and the winger positions [and] he is a player that gives us a lot of versatility, he can play in three or four different positions.

    “As well he brings a lot of quality and something that we need, which is winners. He has the experience to win almost everything in the football world but still the ambition to come here and contribute to bring the club where it belongs.

    “It is many of his qualities [that appeal]. One is his ability to play in those tight spaces, his ability to play people through, to unlock, to drive with the ball and create overloads, he is a goal threat as well both in open play and with set pieces.

    “Again, it is the character that I want, the kind of player that when things get difficult in the game that wants to take responsibility, wants the ball and wants to win the game for the team and I think it is going to be a really good lift for all the players as well in terms of the quality we are bringing to the squad,” Arteta told Arsenal Digital.

    TNG reports Willian had confirmed last week that he would leave Chelsea after seven “wonderful” years at Stamford Bridge.

    The Brazilian scored 63 goals in 339 appearances for Chelsea after his arrival from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013.

    Twice a Premier League winner with the Blues, he would add experience to an Arsenal side full of talented youngsters in Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock, Gabriel Martinelli and Reiss Nelson.

    Meanwhile, the Gunners are also working toward tying down striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a new three-year contract as Arsenal who finished eighth in the Premier League last season, look to bridge the gap to the top four.

    The moves came amid a backlash against the north London club who announced plans to lay off 55 staff a week after their FA Cup success over Chelsea at Wembley that guaranteed them a spot in next season’s Europa League.