Willian travelled to Dubai during the current international break, according to The Telegraph.
It has placed his involvement with the club in doubt with the £17.10m-rated winger required to test negative for Coronavirus before he can train with the Gunners.
Travelling internationally is limited at the north London outfit except in certain circumstances like work and education.
Wind the clocks back to the start of Mikel Arteta’s tenure as Arsenal manager. The Spaniard walked through the door and outlined his vision for the club and one of the key takeaways was his opinion on how players must act.
Who should start on the left-wing against Newcastle United?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Gabriel Martinelli
In his press conference before his first home clash against Chelsea, Arteta claimed that players must adhere to his every word, labelling them ‘non-negotiables‘. Well, the Brazilian has possibly gone against club policy by travelling out to the Middle East country and in the process breaking the rules the 38-year-old has put in place.
With Arteta having shown undying faith in the winger so far this campaign ahead of the likes of Nicolas Pepe, it’ll be interesting to see if he gets dropped for the clash against Leeds United this weekend. In the first eight Premier League games, the Spaniard has favoured the former Chelsea man to record signing in seven of the outings.
Should the 32-year-old face repercussions for his behaviour, he wouldn’t be the first player to fall foul under Arteta. The likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Matteo Guendouzi and Pepe have all similarly received tough love from the manager in various forms with the young Frenchman having been frozen out and shipped off to the Bundesliga.
If you were to cast aside his misdemeanour, Willian hasn’t done enough to warrant his constant starts so far in the league anyway. He should be dropped from the starting line-up for this weekend’s clash against Leeds United having completed just one take-on all season. However, should he be found guilty, his trip abroad gives Arteta extra incentive to leave him out of the squad altogether.
In other news, find out which Arsenal star AC Milan tried to sign on a permanent deal.
