Italian midfielder Jorginho ended his five-year spell at Chelsea in January to join their London rivals Arsenal for a fee of £12 million following the arrival of Enzo Fernandez.
Jorginho was instrumental in Chelsea’s Champions League victory in 2021 when they defeated Manchester City to claim their second Champions League. His performance saw him awarded UEFA best player in Europe and the second best player in the World that year.
The 31-year-old defensive Midfielder was approaching the final year of his contract at Chelsea. Barcelona and Juventus were ready to sign the Midfielder in the summer for free until Arsenal decided to sign Jorginho as a backup for injure prone Thomas Partey.
Jorginho has revealed that he had talks with Chelsea and was made aware that he was not part of the new project at Chelsea. The Italian also added that his admiration for Mikel Arteta made it difficult for him to reject Arsenal when they came knocking.
What did Jorginho say was the reason behind his Chelsea exit?
The Midfielder said in an interview with DAZN: “It’s one of the reasons, surely.
“He called me, and it was all very quick; we made the deal in less than 48 hours. I had spoken to Chelsea, and I knew I was no longer part of their plans. I wanted to progress in my career, and the Arsenal project suits me.
“It’s a young team that plays good football and fits my characteristics. I considered every scenario and made the decision. Sometimes you must accept when you are out of a project and that things come to an end.”
Arsenal are back on the Premier League table after a 4-2 victory over Aston Villa and Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Jorginho has revealed that Arsenal kept confidence despite a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City at Emirates.
He added: “No, if you look at the game, it was decided in the penalty boxes,” noted Jorginho.
“You can’t commit certain mistakes against these champions at this level. We made mistakes, and they punished us.
“After the game, I was confident because we played well,’ he continued.
“We forced Man City to play long balls, and not many teams do that, so it means we did good things.
“We were disappointed with the result and the mistakes, but we remained calm because we knew we’d made many good things. If we don’t believe in it now, then when?”
Jorginho has also revealed that he urged Napoli to sign Victor Osimhen when Napoli Sporting Director Cristiano Giuntoli asked him about the Nigerian striker.
He said: “I knew Osimhen. I had played against him in the Champions League, and he had given a hard time to our defenders.
“Giuntoli called me before signing him and I told him to sign him straightaway, he is very promising and is doing really well. There is winning energy.”
Osimhen is currently the top goal scorer in the Serie A with 18 goals.
