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Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Arsenal get second boost after sealing Jorginho £12m transfer as UEFA confirm major rule change

Jorginho will be eligible for Arsenal's Europa League campaign after completing his £12million transfer from Chelsea on deadline day.

Of course, the Italian international has to wait another month to make his European debut for the Gunners as the reward for topping their Europa League group is a bye to the round of 16 stage which means they will avoid two extra games when the competition resumes next month.

The north London outfit will discover their opponents after the Europa League knockout play-off round ties - which include Barcelona vs Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen vs AS Monaco - have been concluded as the draw is scheduled to take place on February 24.

READ MORE: Arsenal announce Jorginho transfer as midfielder makes £12m Chelsea deadline day switch

And by the time that round of 16 tie comes around in March, Arsenal's squad will look a lot different in comparison to what was at Mikel Arteta's disposal for the group phase as he will be permitted to submit a new list a couple of days after the January transfer window closes.

Having lost Mohamed Elneny for an extended period of time following knee surgery, in addition to being short of options to provide cover for Thomas Partey as the deep-lying midfielder in a 4-3-3 system, it's easy to see why the Jorginho was a priority signing for Arteta and sporting director Edu.

Now, amid the Premier League's ruling that the 31-year-old can be named in the Gunners' squad for the remainder of the season as they look to be crowned champions for the first time since 2004, a second boost has come to light as the midfielder can also be registered in their Europa League squad.

Despite the fact the Italian featured in all six Champions League group phase fixtures for Chelsea - scoring once against AC Milan in the process - he will still be permitted to play for the Gunners from the round of 16 and onwards in the Europa League after completing his £12m switch.

This is because the ruling states: 'As of the round of 16, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registration must be completed by 2 February 2023 (24.00CET) at the latest. This deadline cannot be extended.

'Any or all of the players from the above quota of three may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Europa Conference League.'

Of course, this scenario would not have been possible in the 2017/18 season - something which came back to haunt the north London outfit after signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - as since the 2018/2019 campaign, the player registration restrictions in European competitions have been lifted, and it will benefit Arteta's side after signing Jorginho.

Interestingly, Arsenal's £12million signing has already lifted the Europa League trophy once in his career. That came at the expense of his new club back in the 2018/2019 campaign as the Blues cruised to a 4-1 victory in the final that took place at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.

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