Jorginho has explained why he decided to leave Chelsea for Arsenal at the last minute towards the conclusion of the January transfer window.
The Gunners signed Jorginho on a £12million deal from their London rivals after he entered the final six months of his contract at Stamford Bridge.
And he has wasted no time in making an impact, standing in for the injured Thomas Partey against Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Jorginho’s strike led to Emiliano Martinez’s own goal that helped Arsenal fight back from behind twice to win 4-2 at Villa Park on Saturday.
Later in the day, Man City produced a wasteful performance to drop two valuable points by drawing 1-1 at Nottingham Forest.
The Italy international has since stated why he left Chelsea for Mikel Arteta’s title challengers, admitting he learned he was no longer part of the Blues’ plans ahead of his contract expiry.
He told DAZN: “It’s one of the reasons [playing under Arteta], surely. He called me, and it was all very quick. We made the deal in less than 48 hours.
“I had spoken to Chelsea, and I knew I was no longer part of their plans. I wanted to progress in my career, and the Arsenal project suits me. It’s a young team that plays good football and fits my characteristics.
“I considered every scenario and made the decision. Sometimes you must accept when you are out of a project and that things come to an end.”
Arsenal’s title hopes were dented by the 3-1 home defeat to City earlier this month, temporarily sending Pep Guardiola’s side back to the Premier League summit.
However, Jorginho took the positives from the game and debunked suggestions that it bashed the Gunners’ confidence ahead of the run-in.
Jorginho has already had his say in Arsenal’s title race.
“No [it didn’t harm Arsenal’s confidence], if you look at the game, it was decided in the penalty boxes,” Jorginho explained.
“You can’t commit certain mistakes against these champions at this level. We made mistakes, 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, so it means we did good things.
“We were disappointed with the result and the mistakes, but we remained calm because we knew we’d done many good things. If we don’t believe in it now, then when?”
source: www.express.co.uk
