Willian says David Luiz was on the phone to him every day trying to convince him to trade Chelsea for Arsenal this summer.

Speaking after becoming Arsenal’s first signing of the summer, former Chelsea winger Willian admitted David Luiz played a part in his move.

Luiz made the same transfer across London last summer, of course. He’s close with fellow Brazilian Willian from their time with Chelsea, the national team, and working together on a restaurant in London. So it’s no real surprise Luiz got on the phone to his friend this summer.

“David was on the phone every day telling me I had to come to Arsenal, Willian told The S*n. “He told me how good it was and why it would be good for me to do it.

“I respect him a lot and listened to what he had to say about Mikel Arteta and the direction the club is going.

“Frank Lampard wanted me to stay. He was picking me in more games than I’d probably ever started there. The manager showed a lot of faith in me and I think I repaid it.

“But Arsenal have given me what I wanted and now I will show they have made a good decision.”

It’s certainly true that as the season got closer to the end, Willian was more involved than ever. From lockdown onwards, he started every single game until an injury against Liverpool forced him to miss the final three.

He was also in strong form, scoring six goals and assisting four in his final 12 games for Chelsea. If he can hit the ground running in the same way with Arsenal, it’ll be worth all those phone calls from Luiz. At 32, we certainly need to hope he gets going again quickly.