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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Arsenal: Jorginho tells team-mates how Gunners must improve in title race

Jorginho has told his Arsenal team-mates they need to be more ruthless and kill games off to keep their title charge on track.

The Gunners beat Wolves on Saturday to ensure they stayed top of the Premier League, but it was a nervy finish at the end of the match.

Arsenal had raced into a two-goal lead inside the first 15 minutes thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. Wolves, however, hit back four minutes before the end of normal time after Matheus Cunha capitalised on Oleksandr Zinchenko being caught in possession inside his own box.

Arsenal survived a late rally from the visitors to claim all three points and Jorginho believes the side must use it as a reminder to kill games off.

“In the Premier League the game is never finished,” he said. “When you are 2-0, you need to think that the game is not finished yet. You need to keep pushing, all the way to have three, four [goals], and respect the game.

Jorginho has plenty of trophy-winning experience (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“It is a mindset, to be honest, because you have the game completely under control and all of a sudden you stop doing the simple things that you need to keep doing, the things that got you there at that point. 

“Then you put yourself in trouble, because every single team in the League is strong and they come out. We need to keep pushing for one more, one more, one more. I think that is the mentality that we need to have.

“I try to communicate a lot and try to help my team-mates with my body language and voice. I try to help them to finish the game and win the game, because the game is not finished until the referee blows the whistle. You need to keep pushing, keep fighting, until the end.”

Arsenal have impressed at the back this season and they currently have the best defence in the Premier League.

Jorginho believes that will be vital if the Gunners are to win the title this season and the 31-year-old has stressed how the whole side must learn to love defending.

“I think to win games you need to first be strong defensively,” he said. “Then with the quality we have in the team, we are going to score. It is something that the team is learning - how important it is to defend. When I say defend, it is not just the backline but the whole team. 

“Seeing [Gabriel] Martinelli going back to defend and then he sprints 100 metres and hits the post on other side, it is unbelievable. That’s the mentality that we need to have and that is the mentality that we have.”

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