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Peter Crouch and Joe Cole discuss Arsenal attacker Willian after first Gunners goal
Peter Crouch and Joe Cole have both discussed Arsenal attacker Willian during of the North London club’s 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion – in which the Brazilian scored his first goal for the club.
It took Willian until his 37th appearance for Arsenal since joining the club on a free transfer from Chelsea last summer to finally score, curling a beautiful free-kick into the top corner on Sunday night to win 3-1.
The goal also succumbed West Brom to relegation from the Premier League, after they were tasked with avoiding defeat to save themselves at least for tonight. Emile Smith-Rowe and Nicolas Pepe had scored goals in the first half.
West Brom did pull one back thanks to a beautiful solo effort from Matheus Pereira, but Arsenal cruised to victory. Willian has been criticised for much of the season – and both Crouch and Cole have commented on the winger.
Crouch said: “You can’t doubt his quality, he has been first class. You can’t underestimate the quality of that free kick. He’s got it, we just need to see it more often.”
Meanwhile, Cole stated: “At Chelsea, he was a fantastic player and the fans loved him. At Arsenal, it has not quite worked for him. He’s 32, 33. Has he got the legs of the Willian of old? But he will always be able to do that [free-kick]. He needs to be more consistent.”
TBR’s view – Will Willian turn Arsenal spell around?
Like Arsenal have struggled, Willian has struggled. He is capable of enormous talent but as Cole suggests, he is well into his thirties and turns 33 in August. Can he recreate what he did at Chelsea? Probably not.
But he is still capable of moments of magic. He is still capable of what he did against West Brom. But for him to become a success at Arsenal, it needs to happen on a much more regular basis. One goal in 37 is not enough.
