Chelsea Blasted For Letting Willian Swoop For Their Bitter Rivals Arsenal


Arsenal legend Paul Merson is stunned by Chelsea's decision to allow Willian to leave the club. The blues winger is set to leave on a free transfer after refusing to meet his demands for a three-year contract.


Arsenal will confirm Willian's signing in the coming days after agreeing to his terms on a long-term deal.


The Brazilian, who turns 32 on Sunday, has a lot of experience in winning trophies after seven years at Stamford Bridge. Merson thinks he's a "special player who ticks all the boxes."


Speaking to Daily Star as cited by Sports Central, Merson said: "I can’t believe Chelsea are letting him go to be honest. "I know he’s 31 and wanted a three-year contract but football is all about now, and right now he’s a great player. "No manager is thinking about what might happen in three or four years time. They need results now, so it’s no surprise to me Frank Lampard doesn’t want him to go. "Arteta won’t be Arsenal manager forever. He needs to win now. Willian can help him do that. "He’s a special player and a blinding signing in my opinion. Okay, he probably won’t be pulling up any trees in his third year, but who cares? "He won’t have to settle in London because he’s been here for years and his family love the place. "He won’t have to adapt to a new league because he’s already a proven performer for a top club here. "So he should be able to hit the ground running because he won’t need loads of time to adapt like a player coming in for big money from a foreign club. "He’s quick and he works hard and he has plenty of experience. He also has that guile that Arsenal sometimes lack. He could even play as a No 10.


The deal for Willian comes amid Arsenal's announcement that they would lay off 55 employees behind the scenes.


It was poorly received by fans and pundits due to the mega-money being spent on the salaries of the first-team players.


Merson thinks it's a decision that "shows a lack of class."


He added: "Arsenal won’t be the only club laying people off this summer. You can’t keep everyone in a job if you have no fans coming into the ground. "But it doesn’t sit right that they are trying to sign players on big money when they can’t keep all their staff in a job. "Surely Arsenal have got the kind of money to do that - they’ve just won the FA Cup Final and qualified for Europe! "Football can be ruthless sometimes. And clubs move on. I was there 14 years and they never ring me now to ask how I am. It’s just the way it is. "But I think they are missing a trick here. It wouldn’t have hurt them to keep those people on. They could have shown some class and not done this. "Some of those people will not be on a lot of money, and it can’t be nice for them when they see their club offering someone like Willian £250,000-a-week. "You have to remember as well, Arsenal didn’t blink giving £350,000-a-week to Mesut Ozil. They’re obviously going to get criticized. "But there will be other clubs following suit. Some clubs in the lower leagues won’t be able to survive without fans coming to matches.


 


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