Former Arsenal winger Willian has admitted that he was ‘not happy’ in north London after returning to Brazil to sign for Corinthians.
The former Chelsea man originally penned a three-year deal at the Emirates Stadium last summer as he arrived on a free transfer.
Despite a bright start, the former Shakhtar Donetsk winger failed to hit the heights expected of him under Mikel Arteta and elected to terminate his contract two years early to facilitate a move back to his homeland.
Willian has since been speaking about his disappointing period in north London and also detailed the reasons why he chose to leave this summer.
Speaking to Gazeta Esportiva, he said: "I really thought a lot, together with my family and close people.
"Unfortunately, my time at Arsenal was not good, I wasn't happy at the club. I don't need to go into details, but I wasn't happy and I thought returning to Brazil was the better option.
"I studied some other opportunities, but I wanted to return to Corinthians, to my home, to be close to my family members. It is the club that projected me to the world, he revealed to me. The right moment to return was this."
Willian, now 33, made 37 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions, scoring on just one occasion.
His move to Corinthians marks a return back to his home country after originally departing for Shakhtar Donetsk in 2007.
Since then, he has represented Anzhi Makhachkala and Chelsea, winning the Premier League twice with the latter before his Arsenal switch.
Gunners technical director Edu has suggested that doubts started to creep in over Willian's commitment to the club after his debut campaign.
In an interview with Sky Sports, he said: "In the end of the season, me and Mikel say: 'How are you? Because I need you much more consistent, what's happening?'
"He said he was not 100% comfortable. When I listened to that and when Mikel listened to that we made the decision to say 'okay, we don't want a player here that is not 100% comfortable, not 100% with the team, it is my business to try and find the best solution.
"If it's a mistake or not, it's hard to say. You wouldn't know if our season had been better with everyone being more consistent. But the most important thing is that we tried what we tried."
