Mikel Arteta defended Willian for his dry performances in an Arsenal shirt.
The Brazilian has failed to win fans over after signing for free last summer from Chelsea.
He was not too impressive in midweek’s Europa League tie against Molde either, citing questions over his regular selection. Arteta had to jump to his defence ahead of Sunday’s Premier League tie against Aston Villa.
Arsenal boss Arteta said, “He’s a player who can make a difference, he’s got the ability to find that last action to open the door when everything is really tight.
“He has the ability to score a goal, create an assist and the personality and understanding we need to manage the game in certain moments. At Old Trafford, he did that really well. Willian started really well in his first game for us against Fulham and then we’ve been changing the front three.
“He had an injury and he didn’t have any time to train, he didn’t have any pre-season, he was later in than the others. Players need to generate that cohesion, that understanding and those relationships on the pitch between the front players in order for things to work better.
“I can see a development in the last two games and the understanding of things that we do, but he’s not used to. He’s getting better and better and we all know the quality that he has and he’s a great option to have on the pitch.”
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