[ad_1]
Willian insists he really wanted to stay at Chelsea last summer before making the switch to London rivals Arsenal.
The 32-year-old left Chelsea after seven seasons in the summer to join the Gunners on a free transfer after his contract came to an end in west London.
But Willian didn’t force an exit out of Chelsea. He wanted to stay at the club but he was unable to renegotiate a deal with the Blues to extend his contract.
He wants three years but the club were only prepared to offer him a further two years. That led to his departure, converting him from Blue to Red and making the switch from west to north London.
“And one of the things that made me decide to go to Arsenal was really the various conversations I had with Mikel Arteta, with Edu too. They convinced me to go there that it’d be a really cool project, that it’d be really good for me to be able to go there. That I’d be a very important player in the squad. That they wanted to change the philosophy of the club, to make it possible for Arsenal to fight again in the Premier League, to play in the Champions League again.
“So there were several conversations I had, several conversations that ended up pleasing me, so that’s why I ended up making this decision. But it really wasn’t easy to make that decision, it had to be well thought out.
“Look, I think some fans asked this question. But the majority understood because I didn’t leave the club with a fight, I left the doors open. Everyone knew the conditions, I really wanted to stay. We ended up not finding an agreement, I ended up asking for three years, Chelsea wanted to give two, and everyone knows this story. That’s why I ended up leaving.”
Follow Absolute Chelsea on: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Share this post if you enjoyed! 🙂
Read more at this link (News Source).
