If rumours are believed, Arsenal want to sign Jorginho.
According to Sky Sports, the Gunners are interested in taking the Brazil-born star – a £57 million signing for Chelsea in 2018 – to the Emirates Stadium.
And if true, it obviously means that a move for Thomas Partey is not going to happen, given that both play in the same position.
But going by a side-by-side comparison on WhoScored, the Blues’ midfielder might be the stronger of the two, based on individual statistics from last season.
Partey managed more clearances for Atletico last term than Jorginho did for the Blues, and he also completed more successful dribbles from midfield.
However, Jorginho, who would threaten Granit Xhaka’s place in Arsenal’s first XI, scored more goals [four to three], bagged more assists [two to zero] and boasted a better chances created average [0.7 to 0.5] than the Ghanaian powerhouse.
The former Napoli star also had a significantly superior passing success rate, boasting 88.4 percent compared to Partey’s 83.4 percent.
Even out of possession, Jorginho shades Partey in some key areas, notably interceptions [2.1 to 1.4] and tackles [2.1 to 2.0].
Sometimes stats don’t tell the full story – three of Jorginho’s four goals in the Premier League last season were penalties, for example – but the numbers certainly suggest that the Italy international is a stronger player in some key areas than Partey is.
Whether that affects Arsenal’s stance on favouring Partey, however, remains to be seen.
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