Arsenal have secured the signing of Jorginho from Chelsea. The deal will cost around $12 million up front, with another $2.5 million in possible ad-ons. Jorginho played over 200 total matches with the Blues, winning some significant silverware in the process. The Italian international collected Champions League and Europa League trophies with Chelsea.

The Gunners needed midfield reinforcements after Mohamed Elneny recently suffered a knee injury in training. Although the club has not yet confirmed how long the Egyptian will be sidelined, they did say that Elneny “will be ruled out for an extended period of time.”

It left Arsenal relying on its midfield trio of Martin Ødegaard, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.

Arsenal forced to settle for Jorginho as Plan B

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo was Arsenal’s main target at this position. However, the Seagulls rejected multiple offers from the Gunners for their midfielder in recent days. Arsenal went as high as $86 million for the Ecuador international, but Brighton remained adamant that Caicedo was not for sale.

While Arsenal had to move on to plan B, team officials are happy with the deal. “Jorginho is an established professional with a strong mentality who brings quality and experience into our squad,” said sporting director Edu.

“He is a player who fits our style of play, and he joins us at a very good moment where he can contribute in a key position to help maintain our momentum. We welcome Jorginho to Arsenal.”

Arteta raves about player’s experience, intelligence

Manager Mikel Arteta reiterated these thoughts. “Jorginho is a midfield player with intelligence, deep leadership skills, and a huge amount of Premier League and international experience. Jorginho has won in his career, but he still has the hunger and huge willingness to contribute here,” proclaimed Arteta.

“We are so pleased to sign Jorginho and welcome him and his family to the club.”

Jorginho will join the Gunners until the summer of 2024, with an option to extend his contract for an additional year. The midfielder could first feature for his new club in a February 4th matchup with Everton. Arsenal and Chelsea still have to play each other one more time during the season as well. This game will take place at the end of April.

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