'I wanted to quit Arsenal after three months - I told my agent I've made a big mistake'

Willian has opened up about his failed Arsenal spell, admitting he was sold a dream that ultimately wasn't 'good'

Former Chelsea star Willian has admitted he made a big mistake by leaving Stamford Bridge for Arsenal in 2020. The Brazilian swapped west London for north London that summer, bringing an end to his seven-year spell at Chelsea.

However, his time at the Emirates Stadium quickly turned sour, and just three months into his Arsenal career, Willian was already keen to leave. He joined Arsenal on a free transfer after negotiations with Chelsea over a new contract broke down.

At the time, Willian was told by Mikel Arteta that he would play a significant role in his side, persuading him to make the move across London. Speaking on The Obi One podcast, he said: "Arteta said to me, 'We’re going to play like this, going to play like that. I want you to be the main guy. We’re going to build the team around you, blah blah blah.'

"He said, 'I want to give you the key of the club.' When you hear that, obviously I love Chelsea but it was the last year of my contract. At 32-years-old I was thinking three years more, London, my family love London.

"Then I decided. To be honest, I should have stayed. But at that moment I was thinking maybe the best solution was to go there. I signed for three years there but it was not good."

Initially, Willian was excited to get his Arsenal career underway, saying: "First, when I arrived there I was happy, motivated to go and express myself like I did at Chelsea."

However, that optimism was short-lived. "Three months later, I joined the club in August and in November I said to my agent, I want to leave because I got frustrated," the 38-year-old added.

"I'm not saying here it's their fault but when you hear a lot of things and then you join the club - it's not the same as what they had told me.

"I got frustrated straight away and I told my agent I wanted to leave three months later. I said to him 'I made a big mistake.'"

When pressed on whether promises had been broken, Willian explained: "It was more due to what I heard. I got frustrated from that because when I was there I saw some situations that I said to myself, it's not going to change.

"But it didn't work and because of that I couldn't play well or perform because I wasn't happy. When you are not happy you cannot perform. Money cannot buy happiness.

"It was the best contract of my life there, but I wasn't happy. I have nothing against him [Arteta].

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"He's a great coach inside the pitch, his ideas are great but he missed little bits on how to manage the team. The human part, he was missing it. It's important, but inside the pitch he is good.

"I always joke that they sold me a dream and it wasn't a good dream."

At the time, Arteta said of Willian: "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.

"He has the experience of everything in the football world but to still have the ambition to come here and contribute to bring the club where it belongs. I have been really impressed with all the talks I have had with him and how much he wanted to come."

The versatile winger went on to make 37 appearances for the Gunners during his only season at the club, scoring just once. He eventually left Arsenal by mutual consent and returned to Brazil to rejoin Corinthians.

Willian is currently without a club after leaving Gremio in the summer.