Willian

[Vesper 27,435]

Just now, Mana said:

Arsenal think like a small club. They are also a retirement home.

this is why those last two FA Cup final losses to them enrage me so (besides the fact it is 2 less major trophies he have and would have put us on course to eventually, down the road, overtake them and Manure as the top all time FA Cup team in history, we would be at 10, and both those 2 cunts would only be at 12 each)

take those away and they literally have NOTHING to hang their dirty red cap on

[Strike 6,991]

3 minutes ago, Pizy said:

They act as though we were absolutely desperate and trying everything possible to keep Willian and that Chelsea fans are in meltdown that he's gone there. In reality, the club would've liked to keep him but weren't desperate. Otherwise they would've just given him everything he wanted. And our fans are just saying 'meh' about him going. 

Just a few weeks ago before the Arse move came into focus all the Arse fans that are now gloating were calling him shit, old, and a Chelsea reject.

They said the same things when Luiz joined but that talk died out immediately when the season began. Willian may not struggle as much as Luiz did but it is still a good move on Chelsea's part to move him on even if its to a rival

[coolhead23 1,146]

1 minute ago, Vesper said:

they are fucking delusional

the minute anything happens they they go insta billy big bollocks

IF the roles were reversed

and we signed a 32yo Arse winger who scores 5, 6, 7 league goals on year on average, to a potentially £34+m (just in salary and add-ons) THREE YEAR deal

we would be going full rage mode

They r big time delusional !!!

Early years they were non biased with their comments and was good to watch what r the core issues from a fan's perspective but since last year baring just a couple they r like those paid people who are brought on the show to speak as per script. So I visit them only when they lose a game because that is entertaining. 

Dont give a fuck about how they think ... Let them enjoy in their little bubble

[Atomiswave 6,072]

3 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Just a few weeks ago before the Arse move came into focus all the Arse fans that are now gloating were calling him shit, old, and a Chelsea reject.

THey sure were, now he is shinning light and a proof they can plug playres from rivals lol.....some next level delusion there.

[coolhead23 1,146]

1 minute ago, Vesper said:

this is why those last two FA Cup final losses to them enrage me so (besides the fact it is 2 less major trophies he have and would have put us on course to eventually, down the road, overtake them and Manure as the top all time FA Cup team in history, we would be at 10, and both those 2 cunts would only be at 12 each)

take those away and they literally have NOTHING to hang their dirty red cap on

Come on!!!  ... have u forgotten the 4th place Title which they have in their trophy cabinet for so many years. 

Alas that is gone now too ... 

[Jype 6,398]

Seen some Arsenal fans suggesting they could play him as a central midfielder. That lot are in for a rude awakening once they actually start watching him every week.

It's no wonder Chelsea fans have largely been frustrated with Willian for ages but many opposition fans who only watch Chelsea few games a season think he's great. For example if someone watched only Spurs away and a maximum of five other games, they could easily be mistaken that Willian produces that kind of performances more often than not.

The goals he does score are usually very nicely taken but he just doesn't do that often enough. Sure looks good on youtube though.

[Jase 43,479]

2 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I said a few times I would have liked to have kept Willian at least another year and wouldn't have had a problem giving him a 2 year deal to retain him.

But you can't blame him for leaving for one last big contract. I think Arsenal reportedly offering £220k per week and 3 years is madness personally. 

They may get a good year out of him next season and he could be a good rotational player perhaps thereafter but as his physical abilities start to decline I think they'll be left to regret what they've done over the last 12-18 months of that deal.

He's been a good servant though. Was always in Hazard's shadow here and I was always personally a bigger fan of Pedro who was the more clinical player of the two but he's been a good player and at times, stepped up this season when we needed him to be the experience in our attack. 

As usual with the recent spate of Chelsea to Arsenal signings, we've had his best years and Arsenal will get the twilight of his career at the top. Once again I think it shows where both clubs are in the food chain at present.

No, can't blame him for going for one last big contract but at the same time, it also shows the lack of loyalty when he essentially went for a bigger contract and not just in terms of the length of contract but also the reported 200k+ p/w wages. 

From a club's perspective, this is an absolute madness of a deal from Arsenal. Yes, I get that experience is important etc but Arteta talked about building for the future and yet, they offered a 3-year-deal plus over 200k p/w wages to a 32-year-old, who is past it or soon to be past it. And not to mention, they are gonna offer Aubameyang a similar deal as well. How is that building for the future? Have they learned nothing from the Ozil situation? 

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, Jype said:

Seen some Arsenal fans suggesting they could play him as a central midfielder. That lot are in for a rude awakening once they actually start watching him every week.

It's no wonder Chelsea fans have largely been frustrated with Willian for ages but many opposition fans who only watch Chelsea few games a season think he's great. For example if someone watched only Spurs away and a maximum of five other games, they could easily be mistaken that Willian produces that kind of performances more often than not.

The goals he does score are usually very nicely taken but he just doesn't do that often enough. Sure looks good on youtube though.

It's beyond me how we only seem to be the ones who see the real Willian, how frustrating he is to watch etc. The pundits, journalists seem to think he's great, world class and all that.  

[Vesper 27,435]

17 minutes ago, Mana said:

Nah, they'll just say "Is any of your trophies gold?"

Let them celebrate. An average club buys a bang average player. If this is their biggest signing for this window then LOL.

I'm celebrating myself that he's no longer with us. Couldn't stand him for the majority of the last 3 years.

Hey Arsenal! We also have Alonso! Please take him from us!

speaking golden trophies (The WC trophy is almost all gold and worth around £25m),

the Ballon d'Or (partially gold) is made in Italy with the coolest blowtorch in the world

 

[Johnnyeye 7,415]

9 minutes ago, Vesper said:

speaking golden trophies (The WC trophy is almost all gold and worth around £25m),

the Ballon d'Or (partially gold) is made in Italy with the coolest blowtorch in the world

 

that dragon blowtorch looks really sick  

[milka 3,308]

Quote

He said: '[I like] the way they play, everything is amazing - the stadium, and I think that with Arteta, Arsenal have a great opportunity to fight again for titles in the Premier League and in Europe so I'm very happy because of that.

'I'm excited to start. I can't wait to go on the pitch and do my thing to help my team-mates and to help this club to shine again. That's what I want.

'When I talked to [Mikel], the conversation was good, he gave me confidence to come to Arsenal. He said a lot of good things to me and that's why I have come to Arsenal.'

OK  every one new player speaking same stupid shit btw 

 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Vesper 27,435]

The bottom line is Willian can play Arteta’s idea of football

https://theathletic.com/1992107/2020/08/14/willian-arsenal-arteta-tactical-fit/?source=dailyemail

Controversy seems to be stalking Arsenal at present. There aren’t too many Premier League clubs who could sign a seasoned Brazil international and have it greeted with raised eyebrows.

Nevertheless, the free transfer arrival of Willian on a three-year contract has prompted fierce debate.

Some of the cynicism around the deal is entirely understandable. Chelsea have allowed a number of their experienced players to move to the Emirates Stadium over the past two decades — William Gallas, Petr Cech, and most recently David Luiz — with decidedly mixed results. At Arsenal, landing a player from a rival club has become regarded as a warning sign, with Mikael Silvestre’s 2008 move from Manchester United another notable example.

Willian is also the third of Arsenal’s last four permanent signings to be a client of Kia Joorabchian, prompting questions as to whether the club are casting the net sufficiently wide in the search for new recruits. Furthermore, a three-year deal for a player who just turned 32 feels generous.

The moralising appears to have partially obscured the quality of the player, though.

This is someone who has won six league titles, seven domestic cups, and twice lifted European silverware. While the perception in Brazil is that he has underachieved at international level, Willian has won 70 caps and a Copa America title. His seven years with Chelsea saw him win five major trophies and finish with a record of 63 goals and 65 assists from 343 appearances. He was once voted the Fans’ Player of the Year there, while his own team-mates made him the Players’ Player of the Year on two separate occasions, most recently at the end of the 2018-19 season. This, unlike Luiz a year ago, is a player Chelsea actively wanted to keep.

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal believe they have added someone who can bring a winning mentality to their squad, as well as acting as a mentor for their younger players.

Speaking in November last year, Arteta’s Chelsea counterpart Frank Lampard said of Willian: “On the ball, we all know his ability. But his off-the-ball work is an outstanding example for Callum Hudson-Odoi, for Christian Pulisic, for other young players who think the only part of the game is going by people, crossing or shooting. He does the other side brilliantly, with absolute humility.” For Hudson-Odoi or Pulisic, read Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson or Emile Smith-Rowe.

Yes, Willian is at the age where players typically start to drop off. However, Arsenal have determined that he is not your typical player.

They have taken a calculated gamble, hoping the benefit of the Brazilian’s ability and experience outweighs the detriment of his decline.

---

Arsenal have tried to sign Willian before.

Sandro Orlandelli, who was their lead scout in South America for a full decade, identified his talents when he was still a teenager. “I recommended Willian before he had moved up to the first team at Corinthians,” Orlandelli explains to The Athletic. “I had a big advantage: I had actually trained him for a while, back when I was a youth coach at the club, and always had an instinct about him.”

Orlandelli saw in Willian a raw but remarkable talent.

“He played in bursts,” says Orlandelli, now technical co-ordinator at Red Bull Bragantino of the Brazilian top flight. “He did something, then disappeared, then did something else and disappeared again.

“That could have been an issue in the Premier League, where you have to run non-stop. But I saw that this wasn’t down to genetics. It was a behavioural thing, a result of the way he had been trained. Nobody had taught him that he always needed to be on the move. No one had demanded that. But I saw that he was intelligent and understood the game. I saw how explosive he could be. So I judged that his inconsistency was just a habit and something that could be worked on. That happened over the following years, allowing him to become the Willian you see today.”

Arsenal’s initial attempts to sign Willian were thwarted by his inability to qualify as an EU national — a fact he has recently rectified by passing the requisite tests for British citizenship, albeit at the third time of asking. Arsenal failed to land him as a promising youngster. Fourteen years on, Willian has finally arrived in north London — this time as the finished article.

---

Willian’s move to Arsenal sees him reunited with David Luiz. “I’ve known Willian since I was eight,” says the 33-year-old centre-half. “We played together when we were young in Sao Paulo. So we met each other at school, we played together until we were 10 or 11 and then he went to Corinthians, I went to Sao Paulo and then we met again in the (Brazil) Under-17s.”

The players moved to opposite sides of the European continent: Luiz to Benfica in Portugal, Willian to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk. Willian left Brazil aged just 19, and settled into a growing Brazilian community in Shakhtar’s squad. Between games he’d study the bible with Jadson and Fernandinho, and it was in Donetsk that he was baptised as an evangelical Christian.

Willian was wildly successful in Ukraine, winning four league titles, three domestic cups and the 2009 UEFA Cup. In 2013, he moved to Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala, who were in the midst of an ambitious project that had included recruiting Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto’o, Lassana Diarra and Christopher Samba. However, just eight months after signing Willian, billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov imposed dramatic budget cuts. The entire squad was put up for sale, including Willian, who attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs.

At the time, Arsenal were already engaged in early discussions with Real Madrid that would ultimately lead to Mesut Ozil’s move to the Emirates Stadium. Willian’s suitors were Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Brendan Rodgers had enlisted Steven Gerrard to launch a charm offensive on the Anfield club’s part. Via text message, a conversation ensued in which Gerrard explained, “I think Liverpool would be a great move for you. The fans are amazing, the history is there and we’re building a good team. You could do something great here — and we’d love to have you.” Willian’s response? He was concerned the Anfield club could not offer him Champions League football.

There was also the lure of London to consider. Willian got as far as undergoing a medical at Spurs, before Chelsea and their then-manager Jose Mourinho stepped in. The intervention of childhood friend Luiz helped tip the balance in their favour. “The Brazilians at Chelsea called me, especially David Luiz, who told me to come quickly,” says Willian. “I was very happy to have them around.”

The manner of his signing made Willian an instant Chelsea hero. It is reminiscent of the story of Emmanuel Petit, who held talks with Tottenham before then-chairman Alan Sugar unwittingly paid for a taxi to take him to Arsene Wenger’s house to meet the Arsenal manager and vice-chairman David Dein. Willian’s decision has been immortalised in song: “…they bought his flight, but Willian he saw the light. He got the call from Abramovich and off he went to Stamford Bridge. He hates Tottenham, he hates Tottenham.” Any enemy of Spurs is a friend of Arsenal.

At Chelsea, Willian became the “non-stop” player Orlandelli had envisaged. He swiftly learnt the tactical discipline Mourinho required of him. By 2014, his new manager said: “I have Dr Paco Biosca, the doctor at Shakhtar Donetsk for many years with Willian, and he says he doesn’t recognise Willian now: the professional, the player, the commitment. The only thing he recognises is the talent.” Mourinho’s admiration for Willian is such that he later tried to take him to Manchester United.

That mission was doomed to fail. Willian quickly grew to love life in London, especially with Chelsea’s Brazilian clique around him. He had a close circle of compatriots in Oscar, Ramires, Filipe Luis, Diego Costa and, of course, Luiz. His twin daughters have grown up in the capital, where Willian and his wife have established a digital branding agency. Together, he and Luiz invested in a west London Italian restaurant called Babbo. With the help of a self-testing phone app, he eventually passed that pesky citizenship test. London has become his home.

When his contract ran out at the end of last season, Willian had offers from Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Miami of MLS and Arsenal to consider. It was Arsenal’s proposal that matched his preferences: the opportunity to remain in London, on a three-year deal. A move to the US would have been more lucrative, and Barcelona had offered a higher salary, but Willian was swayed by the vision presented by Arteta and technical director Edu.

Most concern among Arsenal fans relates to the length of that contract. In recent years, Arsenal have made a bad habit of handcuffing themselves to ageing stars.

Willian turned 32 on August 9. He arrives at Arsenal as a Champions League-calibre player, but it will be difficult to maintain that level until he is almost 35. Arsenal will hope a so far near-spotless injury record will slow the pace of his decline.

Arteta has backed the Willian deal throughout, and is insistent his team requires an injection of such ready-made quality. “Everything that comes through our door has to be something that significantly increases the level of the team,” he explained in July. “You need players that have the experience in the Premier League and they’ve done it here, so in terms of adaption the process it is much quicker.”

The coach prizes experience. It’s why Sokratis Papastathopoulos has remained among the core group, despite the fact that, from a technical perspective, he does not meet Arteta’s desired criteria for a central defender. Sokratis’s attitude has been exemplary throughout, and that’s in part why Arteta was prepared to use him in the final few minutes of last month’s FA Cup Final.

Willian ticks the “experience” box, but he can play Arteta’s idea of football too. Tactically, he opens up a number of possibilities. Although most of his football for Chelsea and Brazil has been played from the right, he is also capable of operating from the left or through the centre. Given Arsenal’s struggles to create goals from central areas, it would be no surprise to see him deployed in the No 10 role. He’s also an effective dead-ball expert with his right foot, something Arsenal arguably lack.

He joins a growing Portuguese-speaking enclave at Arsenal. As well as Brazilians Luiz and Martinelli, there is Cedric Soares, Pablo Mari and the bilingual Emi Martinez. The Athletic understands Edu hopes to add highly-regarded Brazilian physio Bruno Mazziotti to the contingent.

At Shakhtar and Chelsea, Willian was able to help foster a little community that felt like Brazil. Given Edu’s connections in the South American market, it may be a smart move to do the same. It’s telling that when Arsenal released the majority of their international scouts, they retained Jonathan Vidalle and Everton Gushiken in South America. Seven years ago, it was a phone call from Luiz that helped persuade the 25-year-old Willian to join Chelsea. Perhaps Arsenal’s burgeoning Brazilian community could help them attract the next generation of stars.

For now, Arsenal welcome Willian.

Where he came from and who his agent is will matter much less than the performances he produces. Time will tell whether this proves to be a good deal for Arsenal in the long-term. In the short-term, however, they appear to have got themselves a very good player.

[Vesper 27,435]

8 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

madness

[chelsea_4_eva 1,144]

Ooff Willian collecting them coins!

[1chelsea 864]

Ooff Willian collecting them coins!

Bitcoin or Shitcoin

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

He had around 100 million in the bank last year, now the gooners going to give him another 36 million. Not bad for the lad born into poverty

[Atomiswave 6,072]

14 minutes ago, Mana said:

Can't wait for Alonso to join the village.

Willy looks like Danny Glover and Luiz looks like a 90 years old Stallone