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Joe Willock explains why he left Arsenal comfort zone for Newcastle.
Joe Willock claims he “wasn’t valued at Arsenal,” prompting him to quit his north London comfort zone and join Newcastle.
The first time this route was travelled was in the winter of 2021 when the Magpies signed a short-term loan agreement in an effort to stay out of the relegation zone.
When Willock moved to the North East, he created history by being the league’s youngest player to score in six straight Premier League games. Later that year, he completed a permanent transfer.
It was difficult for the former England U21 international to say goodbye to Arsenal, the team that had developed him through their youth levels from the age of four, but it was evident to him that he was no longer a part of their long-term plans at Emirates Stadium.
Willock has told The Telegraph of making the move to Newcastle: “I remember that summer going back to Arsenal and I didn’t know what to do. I’d enjoyed the loan but to make it permanent was a big call. I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave Arsenal.
I probably thought I was going to go back and things would be the same. I’d be working to break into the first team again and everything would be familiar and comfortable.
“When the talk of a permanent move started I wasn’t sure, you know. The fans probably made that decision easier but also Steve Bruce. He really fought to bring me here, he was great for me. We had loads of conversations on the phone that summer. I wasn’t valued at Arsenal, that became clear. When I had a meeting with them, it was obvious they wanted me to go. Yeah, it hurt.
I would probably have drifted for another year had I stayed. I’d been there since I was four-and-a-half years old. I’d given my life to Arsenal. At that meeting it just felt like my time was up. I didn’t feel valued anymore and that was it, I was going to sign for Newcastle after that.”
Willock added on taking the brave decision to leave everything he had ever known behind: “At the time, it was overwhelming. Leaving London, leaving Arsenal and coming into the unknown really, it was hard but it was the right time. I’d never been this far north before, I’d never visited Newcastle.
I was also joining a team that was fighting relegation. It was all new to me. It was a tough experience, because I’d been so sheltered at Arsenal. But it was also an amazing one.
“To experience a totally different dressing room environment, under a different manager, playing with real pressure on your shoulders because we were in that relegation battle, it was the making of me. I had been so protected at Arsenal. I was a young kid coming through the age groups, then a young player trying to break into the first team.
Even when I played in the first team it was like, ‘oh he’s just a young kid.’ There was nothing like the same pressure there. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it wasn’t as competitive as playing for Newcastle. I came here and I was expected to be one of the main players to get us out of trouble.”
Willock, who has already made 86 appearances for Newcastle and scored 16 goals along the way, wants to assist them secure a top-four finish in 2022–23 that will earn them a spot in the Champions League.