Jorginho breaks silence on Chelsea exit and reveals his move to Arsenal was completed in 48 hours
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‘I knew I wasn’t part of his plans anymore’: Jorginho breaks silence on Chelsea departure, reveals his move to Arsenal was completed in less than 48 hours after Mikel Arteta called him
Arsenal’s January signing Jorginho has broken his silence on his departure from Chelsea, admitting he knew it was “no longer part of his plans”.
The Italian completed his shocking £12m move to the Emirates on deadline day after falling out of favor at Chelsea.
Jorginho was destined to fall further down the pecking order when Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign Enzo Fernández for £107m from Benfica.
The 31-year-old, who is no stranger to winning trophies, is now hoping to help the Gunners lift their first Premier League title in 19 years.
Speaking for the first time since moving to the capital, Jorginho, who has won a Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup and Club World Cup at Chelsea, admitted that Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was one of the reasons why he joined Arsenal.
Jorginho has broken his silence on his departure from Chelsea and admitted that Mikel Arteta was one of the reasons why he joined Arsenal
The Italian revealed that his surprise move to the Emirates was completed in less than 48 hours after Arteta called him
“It’s one of the reasons, surely,” he told DAZN. “He called me and it was all very fast, we closed the deal in less than 48 hours.
“I had spoken with Chelsea and knew that it was no longer part of their plans. I wanted to progress in my career and the Arsenal project suits me well.
‘It’s a young team that plays football well and fits my characteristics. I considered all the scenarios and made the decision.
‘Sometimes you have to accept when you’re out of a project and things come to an end.’
Since Jorginho’s arrival in north London, Arsenal have lost to Everton and Man City on either side of a draw with Brentford, who saw their lead at the top cut to just two points, though the Gunners have a game earring.
That said, the Italian helped Arsenal come from behind to beat Aston Villa in stoppage time on Saturday on what could prove to be a pivotal three points at the end of the season.
The midfielder’s first shot from the edge of the box bounced off the woodwork and hit Emiliano Martinez on goal to wow the away fans as Arsenal took a 3-2 lead with seconds remaining.
His teammate Gabriel Martinelli ensured Arsenal left the West Midlands with all three points, while the Brazilian added a fourth on the scoreboard minutes later.
Despite Jorginho’s successful spell at Chelsea, he revealed that the club told him he was no longer in their plans.
There were doubts about Arsenal’s ability to top Man City for the title this season after the champions beat them 3-1 last Wednesday in a crucial game.
However, when asked if the loss affected Arsenal’s title hopes, Jorginho replied: ‘No, if you watch the game, it was decided on the benches.
‘You can’t make certain mistakes against these champions at this level. We made a mistake and they punished us. After the game I was confident because we played well.
“We forced Man City to play long balls and not many teams do that, which means we did good things.” We were disappointed with the result and the mistakes, but we kept calm because we knew we had done a lot of good things. If we don’t believe in it now, when?
