The London rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal has produced some exciting matches and controversial transfers.
In the modern era, it all began with the scoop of Ashley Cole by a cunning Mourinho. The two clubs have rarely helped each other since and the transfers of Petr Cech, Olivier Giroud, and David Luiz in the last few years would point to the fact that neither club would knowingly want to lose yet another star player in their prime.
So the news that Chelsea would be standing by and watching Willian leave for free to join Arsenal should at the very least put some questions into the minds of the board members at Arsenal.
Moving on from the overview, let’s get down to the details of the transfer. The situation began when Chelsea and Willian failed to agree on an extension contract for the player.
The Brazilian, who is set to turn 32 later this week is seeking a 3-year extension on his current contract as opposed to the 2-year Chelsea are offering. Statistically, the player has had his most effective season with the Blues since he joined the club back in 2013 but given his current wage of £120,000 per week one can understand Chelsea’s dilemma to offer a three-year extension.
For a winger in the Premier League, pace is a priority and although Willian displayed plenty of speed this season, it is hard to imagine a situation where he will be running past Andy Robertson aged 35.
Coming to Arsenal’s perceived psyche, it seems the Gunners have realized their limited potential in the current market and have identified Willian as a practical target rather than a first choice signing.
An established free-agent like Willian will no doubt help Arteta set the tone at the club next season but what happens for the two more years after? Arsenal has already tasted the problem of having an unwanted player on expensive wages with Mesut Ozil who is still eating away at 1/8th of the entire 25-man salary bill without even being included in the squad. If Raul Sanllehi is not careful, they might be stepping on a similar time bomb here.
Finally, the big question to be answered here is that where exactly does Willian fit into the team. Although Arteta has shown great tactical prowess at setting up his team with different formations and personnel, it can be expected that the Auba-Laca-Pepe trio will be the trident of his team going forward next season.
While Aubameyang, the club captain is simply undroppable, Pepe, the club’s record signing, has shown plenty of promise to be warranted a regular first-team spot which otherwise might hinder his growth.
This leaves Willian at best as a squad player who will be earning double the accumulated salary of the Gunners’ academy graduates – Joe Willock, Nketiah, Maitland-Niles, Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka!
It does strike an appeal to see at first that the Gunners are poaching the best player from the ranks of their arch-rivals but a moderate analysis of the entire situation clearly shows that the board at Arsenal is once again, willingly walking towards another bitter end to a player contract situation.
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