Arsenal winger Willian has raved about his former Chelsea manager and current Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho on UOL.
Willian, who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, joined Arsenal in the summer of 2020 after leaving London and Premier League rivals Chelsea at the end of last season.
The Brazil international worked with Mourinho when they were at Chelsea, and the 32-year-old has spoken highly of the Portuguese.
Willian told UOL, as translated by Sport Witness: “I always say that the best coach I had was Mourinho. I always say that. I think I learned a lot from him, he was a coach that gave me a lot of confidence when I was coming from Russia.
“Arriving at Chelsea with many players in my position. There were a lot of players in front of me and he ended up betting on me. And I learned a lot from him on a daily basis, the way he gives the meetings. The way he speaks.
“Anyway, even the way to encourage players too. The way to motivate to be able to always play at a high level. So he was really a coach that I learned a lot and without a doubt he was the best I had.”
Top-four battle
While Willian may be a fan of Mourinho, for now, they are rivals, with the North London outfits battling each other as well as a number of other clubs to finish in the top four of the Premier League table this season.
Tottenham are ninth in the league table at the moment with 36 points from 24 matches, while Arsenal are 11th with 34 points from 25 games.
Both Spurs and Arsenal are still in the Europa League, and that is another competition that they will be fighting each other and other clubs.
Willian is not having the best of times at Arsenal, but the Brazilian is a very good player who will be determined to do better.
According to WhoScored, the winger has provided three assists in 18 Premier League matches and has given one assist in five Europa League games for the Gunners so far this season.
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