Brazilian winger/attacking midfielder Willian has completed his transfer, and he didn’t move very far at all. Arsenal FC, located in north London, have confirmed Willian has now joined the club on a three-year contract, having spent the last seven in southwest London with Chelsea.
With his contract expired, there is no transfer fee, but the Emirates club will still be shelling out big bucks for him. According to the Daily Mail, he’ll become Arsenal’s second highest earner, taking home £220,000 per week. Mesut Ozil, linked in a move away this summer, banks £350,000 per week.
? New club. New colours. New beginnings.
? Welcome to The Arsenal, @WillianBorges88! ? pic.twitter.com/B7Tl01BXLe
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 14, 2020
Willian, 32, will make an astronomical amount of money for a player his age. His salary will be higher than that of some of the Premier League’s biggest and brightest stars, making this deal one that will elicit lots of strong opinions.
It’s also a very bad look for a club that has very well documented financial struggles, and just laid off 55 workers. Their new acquisition is a top ten earner in the Premier League and makes more money than anybody who players for league champion Liverpool.
Willian, who will now wear the #12 shirt, faced Arsenal 21 times in his career, more than any other opponent, but never scored against them.
Who has benefited most from the Chelsea x Arsenal transfers in recent years?
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 14, 2020
Manager Mikel Arteta believes in him, and the Brazilian has faith in what the first year manager is building.
“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,” said Arteta.
“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.”
“We had a clear intention to strengthen in the attacking midfielder and the winger positions. He is a player that gives us a lot of versatility, he can play in three or four different positions.”
In seven years at Chelsea, Willian won the Premier League twice, both domestic cups once and the Europa League.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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