We have to discuss the elephant in the room, Willian Borges da Silva.
Last season, the Brazilian was on fire, scoring 11 times and registering nine assists as he helped former club Chelsea to a fourth-place finish and an FA Cup final. As a matter of fact, he performed so well he earnt the captain’s armband on one ocassion from manager Frank Lampard, a move praised by Garth Crooks.
So, to watch him struggle as badly as he has for Arsenal is something of a travesty. Very rarely have a Premier League outfit been robbed after signing someone on a free, however, the Gunners may be on the brink breaking such a feat.
Is Willian good enough to play for Arsenal?
Yes
No
His display against Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon was nothing short of abysmal as the winger completed just one key pass, had no shots on target and completed no dribbles during his 65 minutes on the field.
But, it didn’t deterr Mikel Arteta from sending out a defiant message of support for his attacker. In his press conference afterward, the Spaniard claimed the Brazil international is ‘improving and improving‘. I mean, if you’re going to lie to the supporters of this great club, you have to do better than that.
To claim Willian is improving is nothing short of a farce, given that as of yesterday’s game, he has still managed just two shots on target across all competitions this campaign. When you sign a two-time league winner and give him £192k-p/w, to then turn around and claim he’s improving when statistics suggest otherwise is a slap in the face of those associated with the club, especially fans.
However, despite his comments, the penny seems to have dropped with Arteta, who has left the summer signing on the bench for the last three Premier League outings. However, with another two-and-a-half-years on his contract, don’t expect the right-winger to be heading for the exit any time soon.
In other news, one Arsenal defender signed in 2019 has proven to be a woeful acquistion.
