‘He recommended’: Journalist says Arteta told Arsenal to sign 31-year-old in January

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Speaking to TeamTalk, Graeme Bailey has shared what he knows about Arsenal’s deadline day move for Jorginho and Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners signed Jorginho on deadline day in a £12m move, and according to Bailey, this move was being pushed internally by Arteta himself.

Indeed, Bailey says that Arteta was insistent on getting a midfielder through the door on deadline day, and he personally recommended Jorginho as a signing.

Arteta pushed for Jorginho

Bailey shared what he knows about this situation.

“Mikel Arteta was insistent on getting the right player through the door and he recommended the Jorginho move,” said Bailey.

“Arsenal wanted a midfielder, but Arteta wanted to really improve his options and there is no doubt Jorginho does that.

“From having the possibility of turning to Mohamed Elneny and Albert Sambi Lokonga to suddenly having Jorginho, it is a game-changer for Arsenal.”

Trust

This just goes to show how much Arsenal trust Mikel Arteta to make the right decisions for the club.

Let’s be honest, Jorginho isn’t the type of player Arsenal have been signing in recent years. The Gunners have almost exclusively looked at young, hungry talent such as Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Martid Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus in recent years, but in Jorginho, they’ve signed a player who is, arguably, over the hill.

However, Arsenal trust Arteta enough to forego their own transfer preconceptions and do a deal that is slightly different.

In a footballing landscape where Sporting Directors always seem to have the final call when it comes to transfers, it is a breath of fresh air to see that Arteta was the main decision-maker when it came to getting the deal for Jorginho done.