Willian clarifies Arsenal exit as he explains why he walked away from millions

Willian has clarified the reasons behind his exit from Arsenal as he insists the club did not force him to leave.

The Brazilian joined Corinthians in the summer after a disappointing campaign with the Gunners.

Willian signed a three-year deal, worth £220k-a-week, after leaving Chelsea as a free agent at the end of last season.

It was reported that Arsenal were looking to offload the winger as they tried to trim their wage bill.

Willian and the club mutually agreed to terminate the contract which meant the player walked away from approximately £20million, as a result.

But the player insists the decision to leave was solely his and it wasn't the case that Mikel Arteta's men pushed him out the exit door.

Willian agreed to rip up his Arsenal contract to join Corinthians ( Image:

PA Images)

Was Willian's exit from Arsenal the right move for both parties? Comment below

He told Arena SBT: "My year at Arsenal was a bit complicated. I really couldn't adapt to the club. I wasn't happy there.

"To make it very clear too, it wasn't the club that wanted me to leave. I wanted to leave the club. I expressed my feeling, said I wasn't happy.

"I said I wanted to look elsewhere, another place to play. And so there was this decision to leave. There are things in life that money can't buy, money doesn't pay for. You have joy, happiness, peace, a solid family. I think this is the most important thing for me."

Willian explained that the decision to return to his homeland was the best option.

He added: "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 that returning to Brazil was the best option.

"I studied some other opportunities, but I wanted to return to Corinthians, to my home, to be close to my family. It's the club that projected me to the world, revealed me. The right time to come back was this."