Willian admitted he finds aspects of Mikel Arteta’s tactics at Arsenal frustrating but insists he is ‘learning a lot’ under his new manager.
The Brazilian left Chelsea to join Arsenal on a free transfer this summer after seven years at Stamford Bridge and has started five of the Gunners’ six Premier League matches this season.
Arsenal have been in mixed form since his arrival, winning three of their opening six league fixtures but losing the same number.
That has left them in 11th place ahead of welcoming Manchester United to the Emirates this weekend.
Willian confessed adapting to his new team’s tactics has taken some adjustment.
He has found himself ‘frustrated’ by periods in games where he doesn’t touch the ball and admitted the rigid approach can lead to a lack of freedom.
But despite this being a new approach to the game for the Brazilian, he is fully behind Arteta and learning a lot during this spell of his career.
‘It’s been a cool, new experience. I hadn’t worked with a coach with that mindset,’ Willian, 32, told Globo Esporte.
‘The positional game doesn’t mean that you have no freedom on the pitch, you have the freedom to move, but many times you have to respect the position, what the coach asks, the instructions, understanding that it’ll be better for the team.
Arsenal are back in action on Thursday night against Irish minnows Dundalk in the Europa League.
