Arsenal completed a £12million transfer swoop for Jorginho in January as the Italy international left Chelsea after spending five years at Stamford Bridge. Mikel Arteta was keen on adding a new central midfielder to his squad to bolster his options as the Gunners continue their Premier League title challenge.
Moises Caicedo was a top target for the league leaders but after having two bids rejected by Brighton, the club turned their attention to Jorginho instead. The 31-year-old had just six months left on his contract when Arsenal made a move for him last month, whilst the Blues' signing of Enzo Fernandez replaced Jorginho in Graham Potter's squad.
The Italian midfielder has proved to be a crucial signing for Arteta already after Thomas Partey's recent injury, with the January signing playing a key role in helping Arsenal return to the top of the table with a 4-2 win against Aston Villa last weekend. Chelsea are continuing to struggle down in 10th with Jorginho now revealing why he was happy to leave the west London club.
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During an interview with DAZN, via Football Italia the 31-year-old has detailed how Arteta was one of the reasons why he moved to North London. “It’s one of the reasons, surely,” Jorginho confirmed.
“He [Arteta] called me and it was all very quick, we made the deal in less than 48 hours. I had spoken to Chelsea and I knew I was no longer part of their plans.
"I wanted to progress in my career and the Arsenal project suits me. It’s a young team that plays good football and fits my characteristics.
"I considered every scenario and made the decision. Sometimes you must accept when you are out of a project and that things come to an end.”
Todd Boehly has shown that he wants to build a team full of talented young players that have a high ceiling to develop under Potter. It seems that Chelsea's loss is Arsenal's gain with Arteta revealing how happy he was with the signing following Jorginho's move to the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta said: “Jorginho is a midfield player with intelligence, deep leadership skills and a huge amount of Premier League and international experience. Jorginho has won in his career, but he still has the hunger and huge willingness to contribute here.
"We are so pleased to sign Jorginho and welcome him and his family to the club," he added. Jorginho does not feel that the defeat to Manchester City last week dented the Gunners' title hopes with the north London outfit now reclaiming top spot with a win against Villa on Saturday afternoon as City drew to Nottingham Forest.
When asked about the defeat to Pep Guardiola's side and if it has harmed Arsenal's chances of winning the title, Jorginho said: “No, if you look at the game, it was decided in the penalty boxes.
“You can’t commit certain mistakes against these champions at this level. We made mistakes, and they punished us. After the game, I was confident because we played well,” he continued.
“We forced Man City to play long balls and not many teams do that, so it means we did good things. We were disappointed with the result and the mistakes, but we remained calm because we knew we’d made many good things.
"If we don’t believe in it now, then when?”
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