Jorginho's cheeky approach to Martinelli comes full circle with Arsenal interest

31 January 2023 , 00:50

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Jorginho's cheeky approach to Martinelli comes full circle with Arsenal interest

Italy international Jorginho once tried to persuade Gabriel Martinelli to repesent the Azzurri and could soon consider himself a club team-mate of the winger as Arsenal take an interest in the Chelsea midfielder.

The Gunners winger has since established himself as a Brazilian international and represented the Selecao at the Qatar World Cup, but has previously revealed how the Blues ace tried to entice him into choosing Italy as his national team.

Martinelli holds a dual Brazil-Italian citizenship, while Jorginho could have donned the yellow of Brazil but in the end the pair ended up making opposite choices. Asked if anyone had tried to get him to represent Italy, Martinelli name-dropped the Chelsea ace.

"No-one spoke to me, only Jorginho once said to me, 'I hope to see you in March', something like that, but no-one [official] spoke to me, no." He told Globo, adding: "As I’ve said before, my dream was always to play for Brazil. I was just waiting for the opportunity to play for Brazil."

Jorginho could be seeing Martinelli very soon if reports are to be believed, with the winger's club side Arsenal emerging as a shock suitor of the Italian European Championship winner.

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The Gunners are desperate for midfield reinforcements with Mohamed Elneny expected to be ruled out for the remainder of the league season and boss Mikel Arteta is a well-documented admirer of Jorginho.

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Arsenal are reportedly eyeing a move for Jorginho (Getty Images)

Back in the summer transfer window of 2020, Arsenal were strongly linked with a move for Jorginho but instead opted to strengthen their midfield with the signing of Thomas Partey.

Any deal for the Chelsea midfielder would mean the Gunners have given up hope on luring first-choice target Moises Caciedo.

Despite the fact the 21-year-old has openly admitted he wants to leave, his club Brighton have stood firm in their stance he is not going anywhere before the window shuts.

The Seagulls have already rejected two formal bids from Arsenal for their talented midfielder, with the most recent proposal thought to be worth £70million including add-ons.

It is likely the Gunners will have to smash their club transfer record if they are to stand any chance of signing of Caicedo, who has been told to stay away from Brighton's training complex until after the window has shut.

In turn, Jorginho has become a far cheaper alternative that manager Arteta could seek to bring in to the Emirates to help the Gunners chase down a first league title since 2004.

Josh O'Brien