Since being recruited by Arsenal from rivals Chelsea in January 2023, Jorginho has played an important role that was not seen much at the North London club. The 32-year-old has great experience as well as playing quality.
As a player who has won the Champions League with Chelsea, as well as the European Cup with the Italian national team, Jorginho’s influence is huge in the Arsenal dressing room.
Like the term old-timer, Jorginho also has qualities as a tempo-setter in midfield and is an ideal mentor for Declan Rice.
The way he set the tempo of play was seen when Arsenal won 3-1 over Liverpool recently. His slick performance controlling the midfield was appreciated by Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.
“Extraordinary. I always say that he is an example, a role model,” Arteta said praising Jorginho as quoted by Standard Sports.
“Jorgi is a very intelligent player, his biggest quality is that he makes the players around him better, he connects all the players, and he is extraordinary.”
“He (Rice) is a great player, as you can see out there. He just pushes himself to the limit to help the team and he really helps the team. Players like this you always want in your team,” added Jorginho about Rice.
The former Hellas Verona and Napoli player even admitted that he often spoke in the dressing room, trying to motivate his teammates in difficult moments of the match.
“I did (talk a lot). But it’s all positive, just trying to help because the team performed brilliantly in the first half, so we can’t let the goal affect us,” added Jorginho.
“We just have to get back on the pitch and do what we did in the first 45 minutes. What I saw, I’m just trying to help as much as I can. If I speak from the outside, I’ll do that just to try to help the players.”
Jorginho’s contract expires at the end of this season. According to football writer at Standard Sports, Simon Collings, extending Jorginho’s contract would be a good start for Arsenal to maintain quality for the future.
“Arsenal will have a busy transfer window this summer – and the best way to start is to extend Jorginho’s contract. The contract runs out in the summer, but the club has the option to extend it for 12 months,” said Collings.