Mikel Arteta's Bukayo Saka decision justified as Jorginho makes unwanted history

19 November 2023 , 14:32

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Mikel Arteta's Bukayo Saka decision justified as Jorginho makes unwanted history

Considering Jorginho was entrusted to take penalties at Chelsea, many figured he would get the same gig at Arsenal following his switch in January of this year.

When factoring in Bukayo Saka's two notable misses from the spot (one for England in the Euros final, one for Arsenal away at West Ham), it seemed like an obvious transition. However, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has opted to continue entrusting Saka with penalty duty, alongside the occasional Martin Odgeaard effort.

As a result, Jorginho only takes penalties for his country nowadays. The Italy international is not having a good time of it from 12 yards either, missing his most recent effort against North Macedonia to prolong a run that now sits at four successive missed spot-kicks - the first Italian player to do so.

Jorginho's trademark penalty run-up has long divided opinion, with the 31-year-old producing his usual 'hop/skip' style before seeing his tame attempt saved by Stole Dimitrievsk on Friday night. Despite calls from Italian football legends including Beppe Bergomi, urging national team boss Luciano Spalletti to take the Arsenal ace off of penalty duties, nothing will change for the forseeable.

"Jorginho should be congratulated [for his performance]. He did not angle the ball very well but the goalkeeper made a good save,’ Spalletti said after the game. "He remains a special penalty taker for Italy. I told him that he will take the next penalty as well and he said yes."

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While it was comforting for the midfielder to receive such backing, it would appear that Mikel Arteta does not have as much confidence in Jorginho when it comes to stepping up from the spot.

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Jorginho missed a fourth penalty in a row against North Macedonia

Arsenal have been awarded the most amount of penalties in the Premier League this season with six, all of which have been scored. None have been taken by Jorginho, with Saka notching two, Odegaard the same while Kai Havertz and Fabio Vieira boast one each.

Over the course of his career, Jorginho has taken 49 penalties. In that time, he has bagged 41, but missed eight, meaning the former Blue has missed 16 per cent of his attempts, hardly welcome reading from Arteta's perspective.

Vieira and Havertz have both been recipients of some spot-kick sharing this season, but it seems like Jorginho could be waiting a while for his chance.

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Josh O'Brien