Mikel Arteta explains why Arsenal signed Jorginho from Premier League rivals Chelsea

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes Jorginho's experience and leadership prompted the Gunners to sign him from London rivals Chelsea.

The Premier League leaders shelled out a fee of £10 million (plus £2 million in add-ons) to secure the Italian's signature on transfer deadline day (January 31). He has joined the club on a one-and-a-half year deal running until the summer of 2024.

Speaking about Arsenal's decision to bring in Jorginho, Arteta said (as quoted by the Mirror):

“Jorginho is a midfield player with intelligence, deep leadership skills and a huge amount of Premier League and international experience. Jorginho has won in his career, but he still has the hunger and huge willingness to contribute here.

“We are so pleased to sign Jorginho and welcome him and his family to the club.”

The Gunners' technical director Edu Gaspar also praised the former Chelsea star, saying (via the aforementioned source):

“Jorginho is an established professional with a strong mentality who brings quality and experience into our squad. He is a player who fits our style of play, and he joins us at a very good moment where he can contribute in a key position to help maintain our momentum.

“We welcome Jorginho to Arsenal.”

Jorginho is expected to reinforce Arsenal's midfield as a solid back-up option for first-choice midfielders Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey. The Italian's arrival was announced just hours after the Gunners confirmed that Mohamed Elneny had suffered a knee injury.

It's also worth noting that the north London outfit have loaned out midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga to Crystal Palace until the end of the season.

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New Arsenal signing Jorginho was a key cog in Chelsea's starting XI

Jorginho has had his share of critics since joining Chelsea from S.S.C. Napoli back in the summer of 2018. However, the holding midfielder enjoyed a fairly successful stint at Stamford Bridge.

He made 213 appearances across all competitions for the Blues, scoring 29 goals and laying out nine assists. Jorginho also lifted four titles with the team, including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.

The 31-year-old notably played a key role in Italy's UEFA Euro 2020 win as well. All of this led to him winning the UEFA Best Player in Europe award back in 2021.

Jorginho made 18 Premier League appearances for Chelsea this season, playing in all but two of their matches in the competition. He scored twice and averaged 0.4 key passes, 2.3 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 4.2 successful duels per game.