He joined on a free, and will leave the same way. Willian's fleeting nightmare of a career at Arsenal has come full circle, and a return to his homeland awaits.
The move was poorly judged from the start. A winger who dazzled at times at Chelsea and won trophies looked a good addition on paper, yet turned out to be anything but.
Indeed, there were sighs of relief in west London when Willian crossed the capital to join their rivals, and that should have set off warning signs for the Arsenal hierarchy.