Chelsea traveled to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to square off in its second consecutive London Derby, this one against Arsenal. The Blues made it two out of two in the Premier League, keeping another clean sheet en route to a 2-0 win over the Gunners. Thomas Tuchel’s side—and Romelu Lukaku, quite literally—wiped the floor with Mikel Arteta’s makeshift team in a game that should’ve seen a lot more goals for the visitors. Bernd Leno stood on his head and saved Arsenal from further embarrassment. While things may seem dark in north London after two defeats to start the season, it’s important to remember the Gunners weren’t at full strength.
One of the men Arteta was missing on the day was former Chelsea winger Willian. The Brazilian has made his feelings known about his future over the last few months: he wants to depart the club after a horrendous 2020/21 campaign. Our colleagues over at Pain in the Arsenal can undoubtedly tell you more about that situation, we’re here to discuss a specific incident involving one of the many players to put on both the iconic red and blue shirts of London.
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Willian seemingly regrets leaving Chelsea for Arsenal after making headlines for another social media “slip-up” post match
Following Chelsea’s near drubbing of the Gunners on their own turf on Sunday, Willian took to Instagram to voice his opinion of the club currently paying his wages. The winger double-tapped the Blues’ photo featuring a graphic that displayed the London Derby’s final score. If you don’t understand what’s so embarrassing to Arsenal fans about that, Willian liked a picture about his old club beating his current one. Do you get where this is going?
The 33-year-old has since unliked the photo—likely due to backlash he received for the action in the first place—but it is worth noting he still follows the Blues. Willian hasn’t posted anything remotely close to Arsenal content since April 30 when he was still playing semi-regularly for the Gunners. It’s these reasons that lead fans to believe he regrets moving to the Emirates. Part of the entire appeal of joining Arteta’s squad prior to last season was the fact the Spanish manager had a plan laid out to win the Champions League within three seasons. Willian was led to believe he was essential to those plans, although they’re a pipe dream for Arsenal for a plethora of reasons at this moment in time.
It must really sting Willian when one considers he was offered a two-year deal to stay with Frank Lampard’s Chelsea after one of his best seasons to date in 2019/20. He wanted a three-year contract and because the club wouldn’t give him one, he made the move to Arsenal on a free transfer. The same season he made his debut for the Gunners, the Blues would go on to lift the UCL trophy that the Brazilian helped them qualify for the previous year. Essentially, he jumped off a yacht only to join a rapidly sinking ship. His frustration is completely warranted, albeit childish, but he can only blame himself in the end.
This is not Willian’s first silly social media snafu either. The veteran wide man was subject to scrutiny from Chelsea fans a few seasons ago for cropping then-manager Antonio Conte out of a photo after the Italian started other players over him throughout the campaign. Willian claimed it was his daughter who got ahold of his phone and posted it to his Instagram story, but that’s about as believable as Arteta saying he’s got a plan to win the Champions League.
All of this goes to show that teams should take the Blues seriously, if they don’t already. Chelsea is a legitimate Premier League contender this year. Tuchel’s men are kicking Arsenal and taking names early this season and there is more to come. We also learned of a new feud, exposing cracks in an already unstable foundation. We already knew Willian hated Tottenham, but he apparently loathes Arsenal too. Proper Chels, eh?
What did you make of the Willian incident? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!