Mikel Arteta explains how Willian has already impressed since Arsenal transfer

Mikel Arteta says he has already been impressed by Willian’s mentality since the winger joined Arsenal on a free transfer.

Willian signed a three-year-deal with the Gunners worth around £100,000 a week after leaving Chelsea as a free agent.

The 32-year-old could make his competitive debut for Arsenal in Saturday’s Community Shield clash against Liverpool.

Willian said last week one of the factors that helped persuade him to switch to the Emirates was Arteta’s plan to win the Champions League within three seasons.

And the Arsenal manager is pleased that Willian still has a hunger for silverware, having already won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the Europa League with Chelsea, as well as the UEFA Cup with Shakhtar Donestk.

“I want players who are optimistic and willing and they want to win for our club,” said Arteta on the eve of the Community Shield, in quotes reported by Metro.

“That is the feeling I got from the first day I met Willian.

“He is not satisfied with what he has done in his career, which is a lot, and he is going to bring some special qualities for our team.”

Asked if Willian will feature against Liverpool at Wembley, Arteta said: “I don’t know.

“We’ll make the decision tomorrow on who is going to play and who is going to be involved, but for sure they’re going to see our signings playing a lot of minutes this season.

“We’ve had two training sessions so you can imagine that this game comes straight in the middle of our mini pre-season, but as well we haven’t had much time to lose a lot of the condition.

“Obviously it’s not an ideal moment to play in this final but the players are motivated. Obviously it’s another opportunity to win a trophy and we will go for it.”