If Arsenal end up winning the league and someone asks me who their secret weapon was, I’d easily choose Jorginho.
The Italian international delivered an impressive performance as Arsenal secured a 4-1 victory over Newcastle. There has been a lot of praise for his brilliance every time he’s given a chance to feature, but I believe something has been missed. How is it possible that people are overlooking the fact that Jorginho is Arteta’s secret weapon? When you look closely at the games Mikel Arteta has fielded the £12 million 2023 recruit in, you’ll see that he’s been chosen for games you’d call big games.
Aside from the match against Burnley, the Arsenal manager has started the former Chelsea player in important matches like those against Newcastle (twice), Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool. The 32-year-old clearly stands out as Arsenal’s key player in important matches. He’s Arteta’s secret weapon, as despite the ongoing requests for more playing time, the Arsenal manager chooses to deploy him strategically based on his impact.
Jorginho’s addition definitely helps balance out the team. When he plays out of possession, Mikel Arteta uses him in a two-man midfield pivot with Declan Rice in a 4-2-4 formation. Having a Jorginho-Rice midfield pivot allows Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard to press opponents and make their defence unsettled.
This makes it difficult for the opposition to play from the back. But if the opponents’ defence manages to bypass this initial press, Jorginho and Rice are ready to apply another layer of pressure.
Jorginho is definitely crucial to this Arsenal team, especially after his outstanding performance in big games. Some might argue for him to keep his place in Arsenal’s starting lineup going forward. Considering Arteta’s tactical approach with the European Champion, it’s clear why he may choose not to start Jorginho against Sheffield United next week.
Sam P
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You are right
Jorginho is very talented and cool. But I don’t see him starting away at City, Spurs and Man United if Partey will be fit
We all know a midfield of Partey – Rice – Ode is Arteta’s and every Arsenal fan’s dream
@Freddy: Provided if Partey is fit, which is a big if. Partey is one of our best midfielders and it would be great ot have him consistently.
away to Man C and Spurs are exactly the games Jorginho and the box midfield system are designed for, i.e. Odegaard / Havertz pair front row, and Jorginho / Rice pair back row
it is Arsenal’s out of possession game that is crucial, c.f. Porto and Newcastle/Liverpool, and Jorginho and that box system are ahead of Odegaard – Partey – Rice traditional midfield 3 for me
Jorgi is an important player for Arsenal.
However, he can’t start every game and play 90 minutes every game due to his fitness.
If Arteta has the luxury to tweak his system with the likes of him, Partey, ESR etc between games while Rice+Odegaard the our main guys, Arsenal stands a good chance to fight for the titles (EPL & UCL) until the very last game.
What is wrong with Jorginho’s fitness as he seems more than capable to me, unlike Partey of course, who your comment really applies to.
Glad to see Jorginho is getting the recognition he deserves. He’s been a good signing and I wouldn’t mind the club renewing his contract for another year. In addition to what he can do on the pitch, he’s been class off the pitch. As someone with winning pedigree ,his experience is vital to our relatively young squad. Declan Rice has been raving about him and learning certain things from him-that tells you all you need to know.
Given his wealth of experience in winning the CL, Jorginho is indeed a big match player. Arteta is wisely using him in the most important games, conserving his best for the most difficult matches. Hopefully, Arteta plays Jorginho against Porto at the Emirates.
If only his legs could hold, he is an important player, but should not be relied upon for much more than what he’s currently afforded.
Read a great comment on ‘✖️‘ this morning posted by James Woods (@jameswoods100)……..”Arsenal signing Trossard and Jorginho for £34 million, instead of Caicedo and Mudryk for £210 million, has to go down as some of the best transfer business in history”……….
GB,
I agree completely after watching yesterdays game. Caicedo just looks like a clumsy bully, while Mudryk runs around like a headless chicken on speed!
Couldn’t have put it better myself AdPat 👍
👌👍 very true
it is a function of Jorginho the player, but also the switch in system which he perfectly suited to
but that I mean the box midfield so effective against Liverpool recently and Newcastle on the weekend
Odegaard and Havertz the front row pair of #10’s
Jorginho and Rice the back row pair of #6’s
Odegaard and Havertz are excellent at hounding the opposition defenders, putting them under pressure and forcing mistakes when trying to play out
Jorginho and Rice second layer almost impossible to play through
Jorginho and Rice take back possession and drive forward, with Jorginho vision and talent for defence splitting passes putting even more fear in to the defence of our opponents
it is for this reason, and the box system that he makes work so well, that I would pick Jorginho over Partey even he were fit, particularly against elite opposition
Partey has been great don’t get me wrong, unfortunately the words ‘has been’ is the harsh reality – a long time ago Partey has showed Arsenal can’t rely on him, now Jorginho is showing Arsenal don’t need him
I hope we see Partey play in an Arsenal shirt again, but I only see it to rest and protect the other two, not first choice
Going by arteta admission that timber will join training next (this) week, am I too optimistic that we will have timber in the squad to face man city at the end of next month?
My midfield wish list for the summer:
– Activate the one-year extension option on Jorginho’s contract
– Bring in a top-class No.6 to replace Partey
– Send Sambi Lokonga out for another season-long loan to prepare him for Joginho’s place going forward