Arsenal SAVAGED by Tony Adams for ‘really poor recruitment’ of struggling winger Willian with club legend insisting the signing would NEVER have happened under Arsene Wenger
- Willian’s woes at Arsenal continued in their defeat at Everton on Saturday night
- The 32-year-old joined the club in the summer after leaving Chelsea on a free
- But the winger has since failed to impress with Arsenal sliding down the table
- Tony Adams criticised his former club for the signing and has labelled it ‘lazy’
Arsenal legend Tony Adams has added to the mounting criticism targeting struggling winger Willian by claiming Arsene Wenger would never have signed him.
The 32-year-old arrived at the Emirates on a free transfer in the summer after leaving Chelsea but has failed to make an impact with Mikel Arteta’s team continuing their slide down the league table.
Willian’s misery continued with another below-par showing in the defeat by Everton, and Adams has now questioned the recruitment decision from his former club.
Tony Adams claimed Arsenal would never have signed Willian under ex-boss Arsene Wenger
Club legend Adams reserved particular criticism for struggling Arsenal’s ‘lazy’ recruitment
He told Stadium Astro: ‘That’s lazy recruitment for me. You’ve got to really question the recruitment process at Arsenal at the moment.
‘We’ve had some wonderful players and wonderful principles under Arsene Wenger. He went for a young player, you wouldn’t have even considered Willian if Arsene was still in control at the club.
‘For him a forward over the age of 30, physiologically he doesn’t think he can get that player to consistently to perform to the levels that Arsene would want him to get, it wouldn’t even have been on the agenda.
‘This is a straightforward agent recommendation, he’s got the same agent as the sports director [Edu] so it’s an easy option for him, three-year contract, there we go. I think it’s really poor recruitment.
‘As a coach, you’ve been given this player, you wanted this player. You don’t have to play them. He’s not playing [Mesut] Ozil, one of the greatest creative players there is.
Adams highlighted the ‘wonderful principles’ that were a hallmark of Wenger’s 22-year tenure
‘And to have someone like Willian, one shot in 12 games. I’m like, “hold on put [Joe] Willock out there”, we’ve got [Gabriel] Martinelli back in there. You’ve got other options.’
Despite initially appearing a shrewd piece of business from Arsenal, Willian has failed to score in his 16 appearances across all competitions so far this season.
His hat-trick of assists on his debut against Fulham proved to be false promise, although boss Arteta has continued to place faith in the experienced wideman.
Arsenal have won just once in their last 10 league games, the narrow triumph at Manchester United, and are stuck in the depths of 15th place.
Mikel Arteta’s current side are languishing in 15th spot after a nightmare start to the campaign
