£220,000-a-week Arsenal ace was ‘bored’ playing under reported Arteta successor

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka, Alexandre Lacazette and other Arsenal stars may be intrigued by the prospect of plying their trade under a coach who turned Napoli into the “most beautiful footballing side in Europe”, to quote Mauricio Pochettino.

But while the Partenopei took Serie A by storm during the Maurizio Sarri era, banging in a remarkable 94 goals during the 2016/17 season, things haven’t flowed quite so freely for the 62-year-old since.

Just ask Willian.

Sarri’s Chelsea side was the antithesis of that thrilling Napoli side – sluggish, ponderous and painfully predictable. The chain-smoking Neapolitan looked more Louis van Gaal than Pep Guardiola at Stamford Bridge.

And when Sarri left just 12 months after his high-profile arrival, it didn’t take long for Willian to make his feelings clear. Rookie successor Frank Lampard may have lacked Sarri’s impressive track record but he brought the fun back to Stamford Bridge – something sorely lacking under his potty-mouthed predecessor.

“I didn’t have so much freedom,” Willian told ESPN Brasil, via Football London, having managed just three league goals in 32 games under Sarri.

“And this season (with Lampard) is different. I think this freedom I’m having makes my football appear more. I’m very happy.”

Gianfranco Zola worked as Sarri’s assistant at Stamford Bridge and empathised with Willian’s frustrations, admitting a possession-heavy, death-by-a-thousand-passes approach failed to get the best out of the free-spirited Brazilian.

“There were talented players, like (Eden) Hazard and Willian, players who know how to win games on their own. But they were suffering from the type of exercises and type of training we were doing,” Zola told BeIN Sports.

“They got bored. As the weeks passed due to the repetition and the amount of games they were playing, the players got tired and they also got bored.”

With Football Italia reporting Arsenal have held talks with Sarri, identifying the former banker as a potential successor to the water-treading Mikel Arteta, don’t bet on Willian seeing out that £220,000-a-week three-year contract at the Emirates.