An insight on Willian and what he brings to Arsenal

Arsenal confirmed the signing of Willian last week. The Brazilian left Chelsea and joined Arsenal as a free agent on a contract worth up to £220,000-a-week inclusive of bonuses.

We take a look at what Arsenal’s first acquisition of the summer transfer window has to offer:

No need for adaptation:

Willian will not need time to adapt as he has played in the Premier League for over 7 years and for a London club. Arsenal fans have witnessed Nicolas Pepe and acknowledged the fact that adaptation is critical for any footballer joining a new club, as challenges such as learning the language, adapting to change in tactical management among others take center stage.

Versatility:

Willian is able to play up to 3 positions, either of the wings and as an attacking midfielder. Every manager likes a utility player that can switch and adapt to multiple positions giving his team a tactical advantage. Willian himself declared that he is ready to play any of the positions and do his best to help the team.

Set piece threat:

One of Willian’s biggest strength’s is his dead ball speciality. He is a good free-kick taker with a formidable record of scoring penalties. Willian is also comfortable with whipping in corners a big advantage for Arsenal!

Experience:

In his seven years in England he has won 5 trophies with Chelsea and in Ukraine with Shaktar Donetsk he won 12 trophies, for his national team he helped Brazil win the 2019 Copa America. This trophy winning mentality will be a boost for Arsenal as he strives to continue his stint.

Fantastic injury record:

According to his injury history on transfermarkt Willian has only had 3 injuries in his entire career. This will be good news to Arsenal as they are regular victims of players getting injured, Willian appears to be Mr.reliable.

Creativity:

Arsenal were among the team that created the least chances last season in the League. Mesut Ozil the man who is supposed to be responsible for this hasn’t been up to the task and has been frozen out. Willian ranked 7th for most chances created in the 2019/20 Premier League season with 76 chances created.

However, the downside to Willian is his age 32 and his Premier League goal scoring record which is not so explosive, he has averaged 5-6 goals in his 7 Premier League seasons. Last season was his best were he registered 9 goals and 7 assists.

Summary of Willian’s characteristics

Strengths