Andrew Mangan and journalist James McNicholas have recently shared their verdict on Arsenal midfielder Jorginho.
Jorginho was afforded a rare Premier League start on Sunday when Arsenal took on Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
The 32-year-old midfield veteran turned in a superb performance in the middle of the park as the Gunners secured a vital 3-1 win which reignited their Premier League title hopes.
Jorginho produced a player of the match display against the Reds, bringing a crucial measure of calm and composure to the Arsenal midfield unit.
The 50-cap Italy international is not a regular starter for the Gunners. This outing against Liverpool marked just his fifth league start of the campaign so far. However, Mikel Arteta has made something of a habit of turning to the former Chelsea man for big matches.
Earlier this season, Jorginho started in Premier League matches against Chelsea and Manchester City, and he was also handed a full 45 minutes in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Spanish coach clearly values what the player brings to the club. Arteta has previously named Jorginho as one of the most intelligent players he has ever worked with.
However, it would be fair to say that not all Arsenal fans were over the moon when the club opted to shell out £12 million to prise Jorginho away from Stamford Bridge in the January of 2023. After all, the Gunners have been burned before when it comes to picking up ageing players from the west London outfit. David Luiz, Petr Cech, and Willian all failed to produce their best form in red and white having previously impressed at Chelsea.
Jorginho proving his worth at Arsenal
Arsecast Extra podcast hosts Andrew Mangan and James McNicholas are now fully convinced that signing Jorginho was a wise move, though. Mangan said, “I think this was his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. I think there’s a perception of him as a guy who sits deep, who’s not that mobile, who just sort of keeps it ticking, which I think is true to an extent, but I think it does him a disservice as well.”
“I think some of the passes that he makes into the opposition final third are not quite given the credit they deserve…All of his 32 years of experience, big game experience, was on display yesterday…He was really, really important to the way that Arsenal played.”
McNicholas then chipped in with, “I think he’s actually just been a really good signing. I think he is a very, very good footballer, and I think he’s proved a lot of Arsenal fans wrong.”
It will be fascinating to see if Arteta now makes more regular use of Jorginho in what remains of this season, especially having seen how effective a partnership he can forge with Declan Rice. The duo were perfectly complimentary against Liverpool, as the former West Ham United man’s athleticism blended well with Jorginho’s maturity and tactical intelligence.
Given his age, Jorginho cannot be expected to start week in, week out, but it is now clear that in the biggest momentsn the £110,000-a-week star can be relied upon to deliver.
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