Arsenal technical director Edu says that the signing of Willian heralds the beginning of a period in which the Gunners will "start to rebalance the squad as we want to."
Willian completed his free transfer move to the Emirates Stadium on Friday, penning a three-year deal after spending the last seven seasons with London rivals Chelsea.
There has been concern in some quarters over the decision to hand out a three-year contract to a player who turned 32 last week, but Edu insists the move is the beginning of a process that will see Arteta's squad evolve.
"He has a lot of fantastic attributes as a person, as a football player of course, his character," the former Gunners midfielder told Arsenal Digital.
"I'm 100 per cent sure that everybody in the dressing room, the fans, myself and Mikel [Arteta] will enjoy having Willian in our side.
"We tried to create a better balance in the squad but we know that takes time to balance the squad the way me and Mikel want to.
"To balance properly, we need to sell players, to buy players and that takes time, not just day and night.
"It will take time but with Willian, we've started a big process. We've identified the needs in the squad and he's the one to start to rebalance the squad as we want to.
"I am really excited and really happy to have a player like Willian because I'm convinced he'll be the one to impact the team straight away.
"That, for me, is the most important one because I think the squad needed a player like Willian to help them, to be with the guys, helping in all senses. That's why I'm so excited."
