Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho has raved about Arsenal winger Willian, as quoted in Football.London.
Mourinho worked with Willian when he was in charge of Chelsea, and the former Manchester United boss has said that he and the Brazil international are still in touch.
The Portuguese has also explained why he did not sign the 32-year-old, who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, in the summer of 2020.
Willian joined Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer of 2020 after leaving London and Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Mourinho made the comments about Willian ahead of the North London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday evening.
The Portuguese told Football.London about Willian: “He is still dangerous, he is still one of the best players in the Premier League. Apart from that, he is a good friend. I have nothing to hide in relation to that.
“We keep in touch, we keep in contact, we call each other. We wish good things to each other. He is my friend and of course he is a very good player.”
When asked whether he tried to sign Willian in the summer of 2020, Mourinho said: “We don’t have money for Willian. We cannot pay the wages that he gets at Arsenal so I didn’t want to waste our time because we cannot pay these wages.”
Improvement needed
Willian is one of the better attacking players in the Premier League and was very successful during his time at Chelsea, winning the Premier League title twice, and the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the UEFA Europa League once each, but the Brazilian needs to do better at Arsenal.
The Gunners are not in great form in the league at the moment, and Willian is far from his best and needs to improve.
According to WhoScored, the former Shakhtar Donetsk star has provided three assists in nine Premier League matches and has made one start and two substitute appearances in the Europa League for the Gunners so far this season.
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