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Against Aston Villa on Sunday, Willian was widely castigated on social media, so it was something of a surprise to see him rated as one of the best players in the Arsenal side.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 08: Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa holds off Willian of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on November 08, 2020 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 08: Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa holds off Willian of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on November 08, 2020 (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Let’s be clear, to be the best player in that Arsenal team on Sunday against Aston Villa is not something to be super proud of. It didn’t take much.

6.7 took Dani Ceballos to the top of the list in one set of rankings and he only played 45 minutes.

Watching the match, it was clear that Arsenal fans were not impressed with Willian’s performance. There was talk of age curves and a general confusion as to what he brings to the side that we can’t get from any of the other wide men in the squad.

Even Arteta hooked him to bring on Nicolas Pepe, although the former Chelsea man rarely plays 90 minutes for Arsenal. Willian has only competed the full 90 once this season (vs Sheffield United) even though he has started every league game and even one in the Europa League.

Whoscored.com gave Willian a rating of 6.5, bettered only by Dani Ceballos.

Fotmob gave Willian a rating of 6.6, the highest rating given to an Arsenal player (Ceballos got 5.9).

Other Willian ratings:

  • Daily Mail – 6
  • The Guardian – No ratings
  • Daily Telegraph – 5
  • Daily Mirror – 4

Average Willian rating vs Aston Villa – 5.62

Willian Arsenal stats

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Willian of Arsenal looks on during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on October 04, 2020 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth - Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 04: Willian of Arsenal looks on during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth – Pool/Getty Images)
  • Games played – 7
  • Minutes played – 512
  • Average minutes per game – 73
  • Goals – 0
  • Assists – 2
  • xG – 0.9
  • xA – 0.8
  • Shots – 5
  • Shots on target – 1
  • Shots on target % – 20
  • Shots per 90 minutes – 0.88
  • Shots on target per 90 minutes – 0.18
  • Average distance of shots – 13.6 yards
  • Shots from free kicks – 1
  • Shots from open play – 4
  • Total passes attempted – 252
  • Total passes completed – 201
  • Pass completion % – 79.8
  • Average passes per 90 minutes – 44
  • Total distance covered with passes – 3,568
  • How many of those yards were forward – 694
  • Short passes attempted – 114
  • Short passes completed – 102
  • Short pass completion % – 89.5
  • Medium passes attempted – 91
  • Medium passes completed – 76
  • Medium pass completion % – 83.5
  • Long passes attempted – 40
  • Long passes completed – 22
  • Long pass completion % – 55
  • Passes made under pressure from opponent – 2
  • Passes that led to a shot – 13
  • Attempted dribbles – 3
  • Successful dribbles – 2
  • Ball carried – 1,347 yards
  • Ball carried forward – 782 yards
  • Dispossessed – 7
  • Corners taken – 16
  • Inswinging – 9
  • Outswinging – 7
  • Straight – 0
  • Crosses – 11
  • Interceptions – 2
  • Tackles won – 3
  • Recoveries – 35
  • Aerial duels – 7
  • Won – 1 (14.3%)
  • Lost – 6
  • Offsides – 1
  • Fouls – 4
  • Fouled – 6
  • Yellow cards – 0
  • Red cards – 0