Martin Keown has claimed that Arsenal’s win last night could prove to be a watershed moment for struggling winger Willian.
The Gunners brought the 32-year-old to North London on a free transfer last summer but despite a weekly wage of £220,000, the veteran attacker hasn’t lived up to his billing.
Prior to last night, Willian had no goals and three assists from 25 games across all competitions for Mikel Arteta’s side this season.
It hadn’t been good enough, but Arteta introduced the former Chelsea attacker on 63 minutes of last night’s Europa League clash with Benfica and within minutes, Arsenal had brought it back to 2-2 after Willian set up Kieran Tierney.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went on to score a late winner to secure a 3-2 victory on the night – 4-3 on aggregate – and Keown has told BT Sport that he believes Willian’s contribution to the win last night could be something of a turning point.
He said: “This could be the making of Willian, tonight. He’s been a bit gloomy since he’s been there.
“But this is a big moment for him – he’s just come on and been a part of success and hopefully he can perform better going forward.”
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