LONDON: Arsenal signed Brazilian winger Willian to a three-year contract, announced the Premier League on Friday.
The 32-year-old joins Arsenal for a loose after failing to reach an agreement on a new long-term contract with Chelsea.
Willian scored goals in 339 games for Chelsea following his arrival from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013.
A two-time Premier League winner with the Blues, he will revel in an Arsenal team full of talented teenagers such as Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock, Gabriel Martinelli and Reiss Nelson.
“I think he’s a player who can really make a difference to us,” Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said on a club website.
“We’ve been looking at it for a few months, we had a transparent target for offensive midfield and extreme positions (and) it’s a player that gives us a lot of versatility.
Willian had shown last week that he would leave Chelsea after seven “wonderful” years at Stamford Bridge.
“I was inspired by all the discussions I had with him and how much he was looking to come,” Arteta added.
The Spaniard is also looking to tie striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a new three-year contract while Arsenal, who finished eighth in the Premier League last season, watches to close the gap with the four most sensitive.
The move comes amid a backlash against the North London club, which announced plans to lay off 55 workers a week after their good fortune in the FA Cup opposite Chelsea at Wembley secured them a spot in the Europa League next season.
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