Speaking on the Invisible Wall Podcast, Gilberto Silva has lavished praise upon Willian, claiming that the Brazilian sent a message with his performance against Leicester at the weekend.
The winger has come under fire since joining Arsenal in the summer, and a lot of the criticism has been warranted as the attacker struggled to contribute for a number of months.
However, against Leicester, Willian put in arguably his best performance in an Arsenal shirt, and Gilberto Silva believes that he’s made a real statement with that performance.
“Willian had a good game, it was very important for him because I believe there has been a lot of pressure on him since he’s come to Arsenal. There’s been some criticism on his performances and it’s important for him to feel that he’s able to help the team and that he’s capable,” Silva said.
“The good thing is that I do believe that people in this squad do not really care about what people say outside, because they understand each other, they know each other on the training ground and they understand how hard everybody works in order to get results to help the club.
“Particularly for Willian this is something very important and he’s had a good performance and sent a message for people telling them he didn’t forget how to play football, and just to show that he’s capable, he’s got quality and he’s ready to help the club.”
Silva is spot on.
Just as everyone was ready to give up on Willian, he put in a performance that showed why he’s a two-time Premier League winner and a Brazil international.
You don’t just lose your quality overnight, and it seems as though the 32-year-old may still have something to offer at Arsenal.
Let’s just hope that his performance against Leicester wasn’t a one-off.
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