What Jorginho and Mikel Arteta did as soon as Gabriel Jesus finally broke his Arsenal drought

Add as preferred source on Google

Gabriel Jesus finally found the back of the net as Arsenal overcame Preston North End on Wednesday evening.

Having failed to score since January, Gabriel Jesus finally broke his duck in this EFL Cup clash as he lashed Arsenal ahead in the first half at Deepdale Stadium. 

Mikel Arteta will be desperately hoping that the Brazilian striker can now kick on and rediscover some form in front of goal on a consistent basis. 

Jesus certainly benefitted from this start, and he was not the only rotation player to be afforded a runout against the Championship side. The likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, and Jorginho were all also named in the XI.

At 32-years-old, Jorginho can no longer play week in, week out for the Gunners. However, the midfield veteran still has an important role to play in Arteta’s squad, and that was in evidence against Preston.

• READ MORE: Arsenal’s XI for Mikel Arteta’s first match as manager

Jorginho and Mikel Arteta spotted conferring

Jorginho has adopted something like a coaching role within the Arsenal squad, and has previously been seen guiding his teammates through games from the sidelines. 

Against Preston, although he was on the pitch, Jorginho still involved himself in discussions with Arteta, taking an opportunity to talk with the manager after Jesus’ goal.

As reported by journalist Tim Stillman on X: “Statement of the obvious by now but after the first goal last night Jorginho over at the dugout talking to Arteta. Feels like Jorginho on a very similar trajectory to Arteta at this stage of his playing career where the scales of his value are tipping increasingly towards being a player coach.”

Jorginho’s future at Arsenal

It seems likely that the Italy international will move into coaching and management when he hangs up his boots, it just remains to be seen when that will be.

Arteta has previously described Jorginho as the most intelligent player he has ever worked with, so it is clear that the former Chelsea man has his trust. 

Unless Jorginho wishes to move on and enjoy more regular game time elsewhere before retiring, it could be the case that he retires at the Emirates Stadium and immediately joins Arteta’s coaching staff in some capacity.