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What's the story?
Arsenal have not had the best of starts to the season and find themselves placed 5th in the Premier League after 6 victories and 3 losses, 10 games into the league. With the seemingly imminent departure of stars Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, it's ostensibly now or never for the London-based club to start looking for reinforcements.
After a failed hot pursuit for Monaco's Thomas Lemar in the summer, reports in the Daily Star suggest that Arsene Wenger and Co. have identified a new target in Napoli's Jorginho, and could make a move to bring the Italian to the Emirates as early as in January.
In case you didn't know...
Contract rebels Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil have refused to put pen to paper on new deals at Arsenal and could soon be on their way out. Both stars are in the last year of their respective contracts and will be free to discuss pre-contract agreements with interested clubs in January.
Despite attempts to retain both players, the Arsenal board are beginning to accept the potential departures, and have reportedly begun their hunt for replacements.
The heart of the matter
Napoli have taken the world by storm this season and currently sit atop the Serie A table, having lost zero games so far. A majority of their success can be attributed to Jorginho's influence.
The midfielder has been in electrifying touch and has controlled games well from midfield. The 25-year old has been one of Napoli's biggest heroes this season and has understandably attracted plenty of attention from Europe's big boys.
When famous Italian manager Giovanni Trappatoni was asked for his opinion on Jorginho, he said:
"He has brilliant feet, can play in various positions on the pitch and is very smart"
The above statement is a true testament to the player's ability as he has generously displayed this season. Naturally, Napoli will be reluctant to sell their player, considering that his contract only ends in 2020. However, the reports suggest that a reasonably big-money offer could just lure the Italian away from the Serie A leaders.
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Author's take
Jorginho is undoubtedly an extremely talented player who can walk into any first team and improve it. Napoli seem to be enjoying quite the purple patch at the moment and will certainly be averse to losing any facet of their game.
However, while a move in January might be met with stark disinterest, Arsenal might just be able to steal the star next summer, should they find the inclination to spend the required amount of money.
