This is admittedly disappointing. Arsenal closing in on a deal for Jorginho when such an aggressive monetary push for Moises Caicedo brought such anticipation and excitement is an obvious drop and already criticism and anger are bubbling away as it so often does.
Try as I may, to be the optimist I so often am, getting my head around this move has taken a night of reflection and consideration. Arsenal had to sign a midfielder in this window, a repeat of the 2022 January window tumbleweed would have been unthinkable with the opportunity at stake.
Furthermore, the signing had to be a player that pushed the needle of the existing depth available to Mikel Arteta. Mohamed Elneny is out for what could be the foreseeable future and Albert Sambi Lokonga has both struggled when called upon and is being asked to play the deepest midfield role which quite simply is not his position.
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Is Jorginho better than Elneny? Yes. Is Jorginho a better defensive midfielder than Lokonga? Certainly.
So, in short, Arsenal have improved their offering in the players who would cover Thomas Partey. The question mark will surround the length of the contract they give the player.
The 18-month deal with an option of a further year I can get on board with. Elneny’s deal is up in the summer barring the activation of the one-year option in his deal which would seem odd to do with a signing like Jorginho through the door.
It doesn’t, therefore, rule out summer acquisitions in the midfield and as widely reported, the chase for Caicedo did not impact on the priority summer target of Declan Rice. Where there is a frustration, for me there were arguably other avenues that Arsenal could have looked to.
Ibrahima Bamba, an exciting young defensive midfielder was available for a small fee. Amadou Onana was a player that potentially could have been explored considering Everton’s financial problems.
The worst-case scenario for Arsenal was no midfield addition. The positives are that Jorginho adds Premier League experience, an immediate level of quality that’s greater than the existing backup options, he’s a specialised defensive midfielder with great passing attributes and someone Mikel Arteta has historically wanted for many years despite his older profile.
The recruitment at the club has directly impacted where it finds itself now, at the top of the table. Until it begins to give reasons not to trust it, the evidence suggests the faith should certainly be kept for now.
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