From the outset, the signing of Willian by Arsenal has been a controversy. With Mesut Özil and Sokratis past their prime and on almost half a million pounds a week combined, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang expected to sign an extension that would add another £350,000 to that, handing Willian a three-year deal worth a reported £100,000 a week looked to be a continuation of Arsenal’s disappointing policy of giving big contracts to aging players.
Additionally, the club’s previous ventures with ex-Chelsea players had produced mixed results; Petr Cech often looked a shadow of the shot-stopping titan he had been for the Blues, while David Luiz has occasionally put in calamitous performances and conceded a record number of penalties last season. Lastly, it was the third deal Arsenal had done in six months involving players represented by Kia Joorabchian, and the idea of the club being in bed with super-agents looked more and more real. Truth be told, Willian’s arrival was the perfect intersection of the biggest thorns in the side of the Arsenal fan base regarding the club’s recruitment strategy.
Willian’s start to life in red and white has only worsened matters. Since the opening day of the season, Willian has only delivered a single assist in 20 appearances across all competitions. Now, each time he takes the field is marked by a collective online groan from the club’s faithful. Barely two-thirds of his first season has passed and Willian has already made a strong case to be crowned Arsenal’s worst-ever signing.
To be fair to him, it’s not entirely his fault. Willian has spent much of this season being used out of position. The most right-wing of right-wingers, the Bolsonaro-supporting attacker named in the Panama Papers has historically been successful playing out on the touchline and cutting the ball back from the byline for teammates to score. But under Arteta, Willian has often been deployed on the left or even as a No. 10, both positions that Willian is unfamiliar with. Add to that Arteta’s complicated tactics to start the season, and Willian was always bound to struggle.
However, Willian does not appear to be putting in the effort needed to overcome this difficulty. As explained by Kaya Kayanak of football.london, Willian is running less than he did at Chelsea. Additionally, his defensive statistics compared to those of Emile Smith Rowe are rather damning, with the Hale End product putting the veteran to shame in successful pressures, interceptions, tackles, and allowing opponents’ dribbles. Not only is Willian not producing, but the numbers show that he’s hardly trying.
And yet, Arteta has spent much of this season giving the Brazilian chance after chance to reignite some form. With Willian’s poor form making him too risky to give a start, this has recently involved Arteta throwing the 32-year-old on as a substitute late in matches. But not even this has worked particularly well.
Against Manchester United, Willian replaced Gabriel Martinelli to begin the second half. While he wasn’t particularly poor, Willian squandered a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when he received the ball at De Gea’s far post and took an extra touch, allowing his shot to be blocked by a United defender. In the 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa, Willian was substituted on and positioned on the left flank. This forced Nicolas Pepe, who had been dangerous down that side and linking with Bukayo Saka, onto the right where he remained mostly isolated for the remainder of the match. In the meantime, Willian was ineffective, and the promise of leveling the score seemed to almost evaporate when he took the pitch.
Most recently in the Premier League, Willian came on against Leeds United when the Gunners were up 4-1. While he can’t be directly blamed for it, his arrival on the pitch coincided with Leeds grabbing a second. More attributable to him, however, is that Arsenal ceased to be an attacking threat even against a defensively poor Leeds side that were going all-out to score again.
Much of Arteta’s insistence on rehabilitating Willian is likely politically motivated. After all, it is the manager who is credited with pushing to bring Willian to north London. To give up on the player he campaigned so hard for would be to admit that he made a substantial mistake in getting the club to sign him. Additionally, it is very foreseeable that leaving a star-like Willian out of the squad on a long-term basis could lead to him kicking up a stink in the dressing room.
Unfortunately for Arteta, getting much more than avoiding embarrassment for him and drama for the club out of a return to form for Willian is rather inconceivable. Over his last three seasons at Chelsea, Willian’s goal contributions for the Blues declined from 25 to 22 to 20. While these totals are still substantial, it must be remembered that this came when Willian played full seasons in his preferred position. At the age of 32, odds are he will continue to wane ability-wise. With over half the season gone, how many goals and assists could even an in-form Willian provide without taking minutes away from a better player?
For there lies another problem with giving Willian ample opportunities to play himself into form: it displaces other players who are more likely to contribute. Saka, probably Arsenal’s most important player this season, has at this point nailed down the starting spot on the right-wing. Behind Saka, Pepe has established himself as at least Arteta’s second choice on the right. This leaves Arteta to give Willian minutes as either a left-winger or a central attacking midfielder. With the emergence of Smith Rowe and the arrival of Martin Odegaard, however, Willian is firmly third in the pecking order for the No. 10 position. As a result, the majority of Willian’s recent appearances have come from the left flank.
But even there, the Brazilian still has multiple Arsenal players to compete with. Pepe’s resurgence has seen him deliver quality performances down the left. Martinelli is still likely an option to consider at left wing for Arteta, although his recent deployment as a center forward against Benfica suggests a transition to that area of the field could be on the cards. Saka’s use on that flank against City indicates that he’s still in contention for that position as well. Having started there against Leeds and Benfica, Smith Rowe is also in consideration for the role. And it is likely that Aubameyang will play there at least a few more times before the end of the season.
The fact of the matter is, there are simply too many players ahead of Willian to justify even occasional cameos. Every minute he is on the pitch is a minute that a younger player with a higher ceiling could use to develop and gain experience. As it stands, Reiss Nelson is likely to spend the rest of the season playing for the U23s just to stay fit, having lost his place in the squad to the former Chelsea man. To subject other Arsenal players to a similar lack of playing time just to accommodate Willian would likely cost the club too much in the long run.
Lastly, the continued use of Willian when others are more deserving of game time will negatively impact the man who is trying so hard to make it work with him. During the opening chapter of his Arsenal tenure, Arteta was admired for his adherence to “non-negotiables”. However, the credibility of his proclaimed meritocracy was dented over the course of the next several months. One action that contributed to this was playing Willian immediately after he was caught on an unauthorized trip to Dubai during an international break. Willian was apparently fined for the indiscretion, but not forced to relinquish his place in the starting XI against Leeds when the league resumed.
One of the most important things Arteta has accomplished so far as a manager is convincing his squad to believe in the project. The players and staff have bought into the manager’s vision. But this vision will doubtlessly face questions and skepticism if Arteta continues to persist with handing Willian opportunities, a decision that conflicts with his supposed non-negotiables. More deserving players would surely inquire as to why they’re not seeing the same amount of minutes on the pitch as a player who isn’t producing or giving more than minimal effort. Over time, such discord would be detrimental to the medium-term rebuild the boss is at Arsenal to oversee. This is yet another sacrifice that is too great for whatever payoff Willian would eventually deliver.
It appears Arteta is beginning to realize all of this. Post-Leeds, Arteta admitted that criticism of Willian was fair. Against Benfica, Willian was subbed on in the dying embers of the 1-1 draw, almost an admission by the manager that his side wasn’t going to get the win that night. Against City yesterday, Willian did not even step onto the pitch despite Arsenal needing a goal. Smith Rowe, Dani Ceballos, and Alexandre Lacazette were opted for instead.
This isn’t to say that Willian should never play. But with the project at Arsenal being well underway and several players rightfully ahead of him in the pecking order, the handful of goal involvements he could theoretically provide does not outweigh the sacrifice of development for players more central to the club’s future than any appearance by Willian would require. Arteta cannot simply throw him on at the end of matches when players like Martinelli, Pepe, and Smith Rowe could use those minutes more, and when his credibility would eventually be on the line. He will simply have to take advantage of the limited opportunities he should be afforded.
It may well be that Willian will come good in some form. But his deal was a poor decision, and the results are bearing that out now. Instead of betting the house waiting for a broken clock to be right, Arteta must cut his losses and shift his attention to maximizing the output of the more reliable players at his disposal. At the end of the day, no one man is more important than the project. Not even Arteta. And certainly not Willian.
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