The agent of former Arsenal winger Willian, Kia Joorabchian, has hinted that there are underlying issues at the Gunners that must be resolved before they can become a successful club once again.
Willian voluntary decided to terminate his contract in order to move back to Brazil, even though he had almost two years remaining on his deal at the Emirates, and Joorabchian suggests there are other things going on:
“I don’t think this is about Willian. I think something has gone wrong [at Arsenal] and this is just one piece of the puzzle. Nobody blames Arteta, we all want Arteta to do well. Even as fans, they might be disgruntled at the moment, but they want the best for the football club. Willian wants all the success for Arteta and this Arsenal team.”
Joorabchian also confirmed that manager Mikel Arteta was the one who persuaded Willian to make the switch to Arsenal last summer, rather than technical director Edu:
“When he joined, he sincerely joined because he was very much at the centre of Arteta’s thinking. Arteta make several presentations to Willian and made it clear he would be the focus point of how he would build the team around him. Willian had an offer from Chelsea to extend for two more years, but he wanted three years and he made the move. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him.”
Despite Joorabchian’s attempts to defend Arteta, though, you have to question the Spaniard’s judgement about being so keen to sign a 32-year-old on a three-year contract, before deciding he was no longer needed after one season.
The 39-year-old’s lack of experience in the top job seems to have been exposed and you have to question why he was given more say on transfers after changing his role from head coach to manager.
