Mikel Arteta proving ex-Arsenal star's agent wrong after damning four-word claim

Mikel Arteta has made the comments of former Arsenal star Willian's agent look very silly since his exit from the club.

It took Arteta some time to turn around the fortunes of the Gunners following his arrival in December 2019. But he's now got them back to Premier League title contenders, and their points tally is improving year on year.

A large part of that has been overhauling his squad by taking a much more youthful approach in the transfer market. Naturally, not all of the moves he's made have paid off.

The signing of Willian as a free agent after his Chelsea contract expired in 2020 was a major flop, even though he went on to shine at Fulham after his Arsenal spell. He scored just once in his 37 appearances for the club before mutually agreeing to terminate his contract after just one season.

Speaking shortly after his departure, the Brazilian winger's agent Kia Joorabchian hit out at Arsenal, claiming "the project wasn't there". He said: “I think Willian did the right thing.

"He went for the project and the project wasn’t there. Unfortunately, I’d have to say, which player has moved to Arsenal that has not been a disaster in the last couple of years?”

Joorabchian has been made to eat his words. Arteta and sporting director Edu have recruited extremely well, together building a team which stands a good chance of finally toppling Manchester City at the third time of asking.

They signed Martin Odegaard and Gabriel, two key starters, in the same window as Willian. And even he could envisage the direction the Gunners were headed under Arteta.

Speaking in February 2021, Willian said: "I believe Arsenal has the potential to be a great project, it is a great club, it is in the hands of a good coach who has everything to become one of the best coaches in the world.

"Arsenal has everything it takes to be a power again, to fight for titles, to return to play in the Champions League, this is what all the players hope for."

Despite admitting his time in north London was "the worst I lived as a professional" and expressing his regret at walking away from Chelsea, the 32-year-old acknowledged his exit came about because he was unhappy and not because of anything Arteta had done wrong – even if his misguided agent didn't feel the same way.

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