Mikel Arteta has had his issues since he took over at Arsenal, but the addition of Willian in the summer was generally thought to be a key acquisition of a recognised winner with the wrath of experience but it hasn’t worked out. The early signs were good with the Brazilian showing an impressive form against Fulham, after that, it’s all been either average, poor or shocking with the Brazilian looking uncomfortable and out of place in an Arsenal shirt. However, against Leicester, Willian looked his original self delivering a Man of the Match performance and guide Arsenal to a 3-1 win at the King Power stadium.
Arteta has certainly backed his man either by starting him or bringing him on in matches, generally against the wishes of the fans who had long given up on the former Chelsea man. However, Willian and Pepe, the other erratic underachiever, looked very good against Leicester and although the pundits excused Brendan Rodgers’ side due to injuries, the duo were completely uncontainable.
Has Arteta finally worked his magic on the pair and are we about to see them reinvented at a crucial stage of the season, how we’d love to believe that. In all fairness, Pepe has performed a lot better than his critics have given him credit for but Willian has been a shadow of his former self. If Willian and Pepe can deliver these types of performances, then Arsenal will, perhaps, still be in with a shout of pushing for fifth or sixth place in the Premier League.
Willian looked sharp against Leicester and the third goal showed that he can make the difference with a delightful little tap back from the byline into the path of Pepe to kill the game off at 1-3. The first goal also came from the foot of Willian after he hooked a killer free-kick onto the head of David Luiz to equalise.
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His movement was good, his touch was sure, two of the things that he has been lacking for months and he even had a shot at goal, alright, it went wide but it wasn’t far away. Perhaps, Arteta has reminded Willian of just who he is and how he can play, allowing him the time to adjust, although, no adjustment should have been necessary.
I haven’t been overly supportive of the player in either the blog or podcast but I’m prepared to eat humble pie if he keeps this up. I only hope that we don’t have to wait for ten games for another decent showing.
