Transfer Centre

Edu lifts lid on Willian's Arsenal departure

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 04 September 2021

Arsenal technical director Edu reveals that Willian told him he was not "100% comfortable" at the club before his deal was mutually terminated this summer.

Arsenal technical director Edu has lifted the lid on Willian's summer exit from the club, claiming that the attacker told him he was not "100% comfortable" in North London.

The former Chelsea man penned a three-year deal at the Emirates in the summer of 2020 but endured a torrid debut season, registering only one goal in 37 games across all competitions.

Arsenal and Willian mutually agreed to terminate his deal before he completed a free transfer back to Corinthians last month, and Edu has since explained the rationale behind his signing and ultimate exit after an ill-fated year.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Edu said: "The decision with Willian was to sign someone with experience, with a lot of Premier League games and to impact the team straight away.

"If you see the first game against Fulham which we played away, he started very well and everybody said 'wow, now we have a proper team', but the circumstances were different through the season – inconsistent, for Willian and everyone else, to be fair.

"In the end of the season, me and Mikel say 'how are you? because I need you much more consistent, what's happening?' and he said he was not 100% comfortable.

"When I listened to that and when Mikel listened to that we made the decision to say 'okay, we don't want a player here that is not 100% comfortable, not 100% with the team, it is my business to try and find the best solution.

"If it's a mistake or not, it's hard to say. You wouldn't if our season had been better with everyone being more consistent. But the most important thing is that we tried what we tried."

Willian also registered seven assists during his only season at Arsenal and returns to Corinthians after scoring two goals and setting up two more in 17 appearances for the Brazilian Serie A team between 2006 and 2007.