Arsenal: Arteta insists he still has backing from players
Ian Wright has publicly criticised Arsenal technical director Edu after the Brazilian asked the club's fans to allow summer signing Willian more time to make a positive impact. The former Chelsea winger arrived on a free transfer during pre-season but has failed to set the world alight with Arsenal, having contributed just three assists in 11 league appearances.
Edu claimed in midweek that Willian will need to be given plenty of time in order to perform at his best for Arsenal.
"For me, Willian is a question of time to be performing how we know he can," he told the Metro.
"What do you expect? Do you expect it straight away? Boom! Willian can be the best one? But he needs a little bit of time, it’s strange as well to say that but you need time to know the players who you are going to play with.
"Sometimes you receive the ball in positions, sometimes in other positions, Mikel [Arteta] wants to play forwards, the other one wants to play to the side, there’s a little bit of adaptation.
"Players need time to understand how to train, how to work with the people, to understand a lot of things and I told him that I know that and I hope that people from outside understand that as well."
Willian signed a three-year deal with Arsenal during the summer (Image: VISIONHAUS/GETTY)
Wright has since expressed his disappointment with Edu's comments, stating that fans should not have to wait too long for a 32-year-old Premier League veteran to become an important member of the side.
"I was very disappointed with something I read with Edu talking about Willian needing time," he told the Wrighty's House podcast. "I can’t have that, and I’d say it to him if I saw him, because we don’t want to be peddling that.
"We’ve brought Willian in to hit the ground running and when he came in I read what you [Edu] said about a player that we need an immediate impact from.
"We’ve signed him for three years, which was very dubious for a lot of people. I went, 'okay, Willian is good enough, a serial winner, and you look at the experience he brings'.
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Arsenal have not won the Premier League title since their 'invincible' 2003/04 season (Image: EXPRESS)
"To hear, 'we need to give him more time'… I needed something to squeeze, because that’s not why he bought him. Willian needs that chat where someone says, 'my friend, listen, you’re here to hit the ground running'.
"I’m not throwing him under the bus but I’m trying to explain that Edu cannot come out and say these things when Arsenal are in a position where we’ve signed the player for three years and he needs to hit the ground running.
"It should be a dream move for him but maybe he hasn’t been energised. But he’s come into a dressing room that needs him to be the man. Now Edu’s saying he needs time. No, you shouldn’t be saying that. Someone needs to get him in that office and speak to him and say, 'you’re meant to be doing it now'."
The Gunners have not won a Premier League game since the 1-0 victory over Manchester United in early November and currently occupy 15th place in the table as a result.