Why Arsenal should move for free Chelsea star
Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal are in desperate need of a rebuild. While hopes of starting that rebuild have gone bust because of the pandemic and the financial implications it has brought, smart recruitment can still help Arsenal a lot. One such smart piece of recruitment could be Chelsea’s Willian.
It isn’t to say that Arsenal don’t have defensive issues- they certainly do. But Willian would represent the sort of signing that would give Arsenal a lot of momentum going forward. He adds the experience, the habit of winning trophies, a winner’s mentality and the Brazilian would add some goals as well.
All this could potentially go a long way in deciding where Arsenal finish next season. Premier League fans can seek some great odds on apuestas24 and enjoy their football betting experience.
At 31, Willian still shows some great signs of his ability. In the 2019/20 Premier League season, the Brazilian has contributed to ten goals in 29 appearances. In all competitions, he has directly contributed to 13 goals as well. While that isn’t a huge number, Willian has come up with 1.9 key passes per game and still completes 1.8 dribbles per game- as per Whoscored.
Those are the sort of numbers that go on to define Willian. He likes to get on the ball and move forward with it. He can play on either side and he does the same job, no matter where he plays. Set-pieces are a very important quality of his, as Willian can be devastating from direct free-kicks.
The former Anzhi man has come up with 4.73 shot creation actions per 90 minutes (as per FBref) in the Premier League this season. That is the eighth-best tally in the whole of the league and it shows that he still is a very reliable chance creator and with the right sort of finisher, his output can still improve.
Arsenal have created an XG of only 41.7 this season and that is the 11th best in the division, as per UnderStat. So they can certainly make do with someone who can create from wide positions and potentially allow Pierre Emerick Aubameyang to play as the striker instead of playing in a wide position.
The Gunners sold Alex Iwobi to Everton in the summer of 2019 and while they did sign Nicolas Pepe as well, they don’t really have a proper wide player in the team apart from that. They lack in that department. Reiss Nelson can be an option in the future, but he isn’t someone who can play on a regular basis.
Him and Joe Willock are players who can learn from someone like Willian. It isn’t like Willian has only one or two years of football in him. He is only 31 and can still last for a good three years. For a long while, Arsenal have been criticised for not being strong enough mentally and for having a soft underbelly.
Willian will help get rid of that. He’s won trophies at Chelsea and brings loads of experience with himself. The number of positives in this free transfer are too good to avoid.
