Former Chelsea star admits he made mistake by leaving the club

Willian has acknowledged that he regrets leaving Chelsea in the summer of 2020 to go with Arsenal on a free transfer. The Brazilian winger played for the Blues for seven seasons, during which time he won two Premier League championships and twice received the club’s “Player of the Year” award.

He was disappointed by Chelsea, nevertheless, when he was only given a two-year deal for 2020. Willian eventually signed a three-year contract with the Gunners. His tenure with the North London giants, though, was far from stellar; a year after joining, he left on a free transfer.

The 70-cap Brazil international managed just one goal and seven assists in 37 outings for Arsenal across all competitions. Before rejoining the Premier League this summer when he joined for Fulham as a free agent, he left the Emirates to go back to Corinthians.

The 33-year-old was recently asked on Sky Sports if he regretted leaving Chelsea, to which he replied (h/t Metro):

“Yeah, I wish I’d never left. Of course, it’s easy now to say something but when you stop to think about all the situations I say to myself ‘I wish I never left. They (Arsenal) are flying now.

He added:

“I think it was in the middle when things were changing a lot. I was excited when I signed with them, I was training hard but it just didn’t work and that’s it.”

Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League table after 26 games with a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City. Things, however, weren’t as rosy when Willian was at the Emirates.

It was manager Mikel Arteta’s first full season in charge of the club, where they ended up finishing eighth in the league table.