31 December 2023 , 06:00
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Willian has admitted his regret at leaving Chelsea to join Arsenal back in 2020.
The 35-year-old spent seven successful years at Stamford Bridge, scoring 63 goals and adding 62 assists in 339 appearances. He won the Premier League twice, as well as claiming the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League. However, Willian decided to leave the club in August 2020.
Arsenal secured Willian's services on a three-year contract and he impressed on his debut, grabbing two assists in a 3-0 win over newly promoted Fulham. However, that's as good as it got for Willian, who scored just once and provided seven assists in 37 matches in a disastrous spell at the Gunners.
In August 2021, Arsenal announced that Willian had departed the club by mutual consent. The Brazilian later described his time at the Gunners as "the worst time that he had lived as a professional". Willian re-joined Corinthians but spent just one season back in his native Brazil, before returning to the Premier League and signing for Marco Silva's Fulham after impressing while on trial.
Willian hit the ground running at Craven Cottage and helped steer Fulham to a mid-table finish, having chipped in with five goals and six assists in 27 Premier League appearances last season. There were fears Willian could leave Fulham in the summer, but he committed his future to the club in July by signing a new one-year deal.
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Willian in action for Fulham earlier this season (Getty Images)Do you remember Willian at Arsenal? Let us know in the comments below!
He has been a regular in Fulham's starting XI this term and already has four goals to his name. The Cottagers face Arsenal in a crucial clash on Sunday, and Willian opened up on his time at the Gunners back in November. "Yeah, I wish I’d never left," he admitted to Sky Sports. "Of course, it’s easy to say something now, but when I stop to think about the whole situation then yeah, I say to myself I wish I’d never left."
Willian's Fulham have lost their last three Premier League matches and will be looking to bounce back against Arsenal, who have been superb so far this season. Arteta has completely transformed the Gunners' fortunes despite a difficult start to his career as Arsenal boss.
"I'm happy now at Fulham," Willian added. "I'm enjoying myself there, so this is life. "They [Arsenal] are flying now. I don’t know, I think I came while it was changing a lot. I was excited when I signed with them, I was training hard but it just didn’t work."