I regret joining Arsenal from Chelsea - I wanted to leave after three months

Former Chelsea winger Willian joined Arsenal after a successful period with Chelsea but the move to the red side of Arsenal did not go to plan

Former Premier League star Willian has been candid about his feelings regarding his decision to leave Chelsea for Arsenal. Willian departed the Blues in the summer of 2020, joining the Gunners as a free agent, where he would only spend a single season at the Emirates Stadium.

The 36-year-old made 37 appearances during his solitary season with Arsenal and has previously confessed that he did not enjoy his stint in North London. After just one season with Arsenal, Willian returned to Brazil to sign for Corinthians, spending a year there before making a return to the Premier League with Fulham in 2022.

It was during his time in Brazil that Willian first reflected on his Arsenal experience, admitting that he wanted to leave the Gunners after just three months at the Emirates, reports Football London.

"I wasn't happy [at Arsenal], I wasn't happy. That's why I didn't perform. I don't want to go into the details," Willian revealed on the YouTube channel Five, hosted by Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand.

"When I arrived there I was happy, from the beginning I was motivated, I wanted to do well - new club, new mates, new project. But after three months, I said to my agent: 'Please, I want to go'. I don't want to speak bad about the club, because it is a big club. Arsenal has a big history.

"In football, big players played there before as well. But it didn't work, it didn't work. It was, of course, the most difficult time of my career.

"It was big money that I gave up. But sometimes money is not the most important thing in life. I think you need to be happy, get pleasure every day waking up in the morning to go to train. I wasn't having that.

"So I said to myself, with my family, I cannot stay here, I am not happy here. I have to leave, find a way out, leave the club, because if I stay I am going to stay the same. For me, it's unfair to stay in a place that you don't want to stay just because of the money. For me, it was that."

Fast forward nearly two years and Willian was once again reflecting on his time at Arsenal, expressing regret over his decision to leave Chelsea. Willian had a seven-year stint at Stamford Bridge, during which he made 339 appearances for the Blues and clinched five major trophies, including two Premier League titles.

"Yeah. I wish I'd never left [Chelsea]," Willian confessed to Sky Sports. "Of course it's easy to say now, but when I stop and think about all the situations - I say to myself, 'I wish I never left'. It's life. I'm happy now at Fulham, enjoying myself there, this is life."