'Willian was wooed by Arteta' - Joorabchian reveals why former Chelsea star opted for Gunners

Willian bought into Mikel Arteta's "incredible project" at Arsenal, according to his agent Kia Joorabchian, who says the ex-Chelsea star was "wooed" by the Arsenal boss.

Arsenal announced the arrival of Willian on a free transfer on August 14, as they snapped up the winger on a three-year deal following his departure from Stamford Bridge.

The 32-year-old was offered the chance to extend his stay at Chelsea, but the two parties ultimately failed to reach a final agreement over the length of his proposed contract.

The Gunners were able to match Willian's demands, and he will now be tasked with helping Arteta's men build on their victory in last season's FA Cup final by becoming an elite force in the Premier League once again.

Joorabchian says that a lucrative £220,000 per-week deal was not the main draw to Emirates Stadium for his client, who was blown away by the current Arsenal head coach's long-term vision for the club.

“With Willian, there’s no secret he wanted a three-year contract, but the Mikel Arteta project was just incredible,” the agent told talkSPORT.

“He was very much wooed by Mikel and [technical director] Edu, and what Mikel presented to him and the way he wants to play football, the way he wants to continue and the success he wants to bring to Arsenal, made the difference.

“That’s what he said and that’s exactly what it was.”

Joorabchian went on to address Willian's failed move to Tottenham from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013, as the Brazil international ultimately ended up snubbing Spurs at the last minute to undertake a new challenge with Chelsea.

Asked if there was any truth to reports at the time that Brazilian was all set to sign for Tottenham until ex-Blues boss Jose Mourinho called, the 49-year-old responded: “Yeah, but that was a bit of a different story, because the clubs – Spurs and Anzhi were in a conflict over a solidarity payment, and then Anzhi pulled the plug.

“So it was a different story [to what was reported].

“Obviously, Jose was at Chelsea at that time and Willi did very well there, he won several trophies and succeeded very well, so I hope he does the same thing at Arsenal.”

Willian will be in line to make his full debut for Arsenal when they kick-off their latest Premier League campaign away at Fulham on Saturday.