Ex-Arsenal man explains why he couldn’t take it anymore and had to leave

Brazilian midfielder Denilson has finally come clean on his decision to leave Arsenal and return to his homeland.

The then 18-year-old joined the Gunners in a bargain £3.4million switch from Sao Paulo in 2006 and went on to make 153 appearances, scoring 11 times over a five-year spell.

But Denilson struggled badly with homesickness during his time in London and missed his family so badly that he opted to return to his former club at the age of 23 – considered a very young age for South American imports based in Europe to come back home.

Now, speaking about his experiences in the Premier League for the first time, Denilson has told Globo Esporte why he ‘couldn’t take it anymore’ and simply had to leave.

“As I stayed at the club for five years and I was two or three years on my own, then I started taking people to stay with me,” the now 32-year-old explained in his interview translated by Sport Witness. “But even so, I missed the family a lot. I took the people, but emotionally I wasn’t very well. I still managed to stay five years.

There were a few months left to get the European passport. It was six years at the time to achieve this. I couldn’t take it anymore. It was more the cold weather in England, the people who were cold and emotionally draining me in the country. On the pitch it reflected a lot.”

Once it became apparent he was due to leave Emirates Stadium, Denilson admits he had the opportunity to join other European clubs, but he explained why returning to his homeland was his only option.

“I was going to be loaned to other clubs. One of the interested parties were Shakhtar. There was also an interest from Sevilla, where a club representative even had lunch at my house, among others,” he said. “But I asked to go back to Brazil. In reality I would go to Fluminense. It wasn’t even to Sao Paulo. At the last minute things turned around and I ended up going back to Sao Paulo.”

 

 

 

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Denilson also admits that he only wanted to return to Brazil and be back nearer his family.

“The way it was, I couldn’t stay there anymore. I needed fresh air,” he said. “One reason was some clubs showing interest in my work. Even so, I wanted to go back to Brazil, which is my country. This would bring me closer to the family. If I stayed I don’t know what could have happened. I believe that if I had stayed longer I would get the European passport. This was a great advantage of looking for other ways.

“I don’t regret having returned to Sao Paulo. I leave my gratitude to everyone who fought for me to return to Sao Paulo. I’m grateful for everything that Sao Paulo have done for me since I was a child and after my return.”

Denilson went on to have another spell abroad, playing for Qatar side Al Wahda for two years between 2015-17. The midfielder currently plays for Botafogo, who play in the Sao Paulo suburb of Ribeirao Preto.

In other Arsenal news, a Gunners favourite has been touted as a surprise makeweight in a deal to bring an Atletico Madrid midfielder to Emirates Stadium.