Joe Willock has admitted it hurt when he realised Arsenal wanted him to leave for Newcastle United, having not initially expected to make his loan move permanent.

Joe Willock left Arsenal for Newcastle United in the summer of 2021, having spent a few months on loan at the club helping them to avoid relegation.

Willock’s loan spell had been very impressive, as he scored eight goals in 14 games with his new side. It was clear Newcastle wanted to keep him, but it also wouldn’t have been surprising to see Arsenal pushing to bring him back.

As a result, Willock admits it hurt when he realised the Gunners were looking to sell.

“I remember that summer going back to Arsenal and I didn’t know what to do,” Willock told The Telegraph. “I’d enjoyed the loan but to make it permanent was a big call. I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave Arsenal.

“I probably thought I was going to go back and things would be the same. I’d be working to break into the first team again and everything would be familiar and comfortable.

“When the talk of a permanent move started I wasn’t sure, you know. The fans probably made that decision easier but also Steve Bruce. He really fought to bring me here, he was great for me.

“We had loads of conversations on the phone that summer. I wasn’t valued at Arsenal, that became clear. When I had a meeting with them, it was obvious they wanted me to go. Yeah, it hurt.

“I would probably have drifted for another year had I stayed. I’d been there since I was four-and-a-half years old. I’d given my life to Arsenal.

“At that meeting, it just felt like my time was up. I didn’t feel valued anymore and that was it, I was going to sign for Newcastle after that.”

From an Arsenal point of view, it’s clear why the club made that call. As well as Willock was playing, the Gunners were planning a summer overhaul of the squad, and they needed the funds to invest.

Current starters Ben White, Martin Odegaard, and Aaron Ramsdale were the big-money signings of the 2021 summer, and Takehiro Tomiyasu, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Nuno Tavares also joined in lower-profile moves that same window.

Willock was the only player to leave Arsenal for a significant fee that summer. If he’d stayed, it would have been hard to do all of the same business.

It wasn’t as if Arsenal were throwing Willock to the wolves. He was joining a club where he was already proving a success, and where he’s now a starter closing in on Champions League football.

Even so, you can understand why Willock would be upset by losing the chance to achieve that same success with his boyhood club, and not having the Gunners fight for him to stay.

It wasn’t an easy choice, but it was probably the correct one for all parties in retrospect.