Arteta makes pointed Jorginho remark after 'certain behaviour' dig at Newcastle
Jorginho was not signed by Arsenal as a player for all opponents.
The holding midfielder arrived from Chelsea 13 months ago with specific games in mind, those requiring more craft and guile than physical prowess. Such as Saturday night’s annihilation of Newcastle.
Kai Havertz, who followed him from Stamford Bridge in the summer, described the Italian as world class afterwards. But it was a line within Mikel Arteta ’s post-match remarks that stood out about a footballer who has often been maligned for his lack of pace but lauded for his speed of thought.
“He’s a top player,” Arteta said. “Especially when opponents have certain behaviours and set-ups. The way I imagined the game, he was going to have a big impact.”
The key lay in Arsenal ’s start. They immediately set the tempo, monopolising both possession and territory from the outset. Against a team accused on more than one occasion of time-wasting in recent meetings between these sides, taking control early was vital.
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And so great was Jorginho’s influence, ten minutes before half time he had more touches (65) than Newcastle’s six midfield and forward players combined (59). Eddie Howe’s side finally began to put some passes together approaching the interval but the damage was done - largely thanks to the clever Italian at the base of the Gunners’ midfield three.
Yet this was only Jorginho’s sixth league start of the season and second since mid-December, while his inclusion here offered Declan Rice an opportunity to play in a more advanced role.
With Rice the man for every match, Jorginho’s plug-in-and-play job means that whether Arsenal finish first or third in the table, it is hard to argue against them being a better team compared to last season. “When he’s not playing consistently, credit to him because he was magnificent again,” Arteta added.
After such a dominant outing, there may be a temptation to argue Jorginho must retain his starting spot following this performance. But there is a clear sense that Arsenal’s fringe players are fully committed to the manager’s system-first principles and Jorginho’s own summation afterwards, with more than a sprinkle of humility, pointed to that.
“All I do is try to make things easier for my team,” he said. “When I go out there and I can do that, I'm really happy because to see the team pushing and scoring goals and having fun, enjoying being together on the pitch with these fans, it's just incredible.”
Mikel Arteta celebrates Arsenal's second goal on a stunning night against Newcastle at the Emirates.Almost as incredible as their run of form since the winter break. Jorginho joked that what happened on their Dubai training camp in early January “was a secret” but Arsenal have won all six league matches since with an aggregate score of 25-3. The difference, he said, simply lies in putting opportunities away.
“We were creating but we maybe weren't finishing the chances that we were creating,” he added. “Then something clicked - the connection between the players, with the staff, with the fans - it's just an amazing feeling all together and then things turn your way. It's just a pleasure to be here. We go out there and we give our best. We work hard and we are really enjoying this journey together.”
The routine skewering of Premier League opponents was interrupted by last week’s sucker punch Champions League defeat away to Porto. But with that and the anger from November’s reverse fixture, which Newcastle won 1-0, still simmering, Jorginho added: “You could see the team was really angry and we showed that out there. We wanted to go hard. That's what we did.”
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