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He overtakes him and judges, that is the way to destruction. Arsenal fans are burning reinforcements

When he helped Chelsea win the Champions League a year and a half ago and was one of the key players in Italy’s golden journey through the European Championship a few weeks later, he was a hot favorite for the Ballon d’Or for the best footballer on the planet.

He finished third with a small gap behind Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski, he was on course at the time.

He’s gone now, riding the misery of Chelsea who bought like mad in January and Jorginho has become a bit redundant.

After arriving at Arsenal, he is not reminded of the way he takes penalties that made him famous – he jumps up just before the shot at the start – but the situation from the lost home match against Liverpool (1:2) in 2019.

Chelsea lose the ball and the opponent counter-attacks… And even referee Michael Oliver overtakes Jorginho when he returns to the defense.

“This is what scares me the most,” wrote Arsenal fans on social media.

“Jorginho was slower than even the referee. We are doomed,” responds another.

Others are calm: “Coach Arteta knows what he’s doing.”

Even so, given his speech, it was surprising that Arsenal bought him half a year before the end of his contract at Chelsea. He paid about 350 million crowns for it.

Arsenal is the best team in England this season, winning 16 out of 19 league games. At the top of the table, they have a five-point lead over Manchester City, who have played a game more.

The team is admired not only for the results, but above all for the game that leads to victory. And the 31-year-old native of Brazil with an Italian passport has his strengths, but high-tempo play, speed or athleticism are not among them.

It is obvious that Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka will remain in the starting line-up, Jorginho has rather improved the quality of their possible replacement.

“Jorginho is an intelligent player, with great leadership skills and vast experience. He has won a lot in his career, but he is still hungry and has a great appetite for success,” commented coach Mikel Arteta.

Jorginho is not the first footballer Arsenal have bought from Chelsea. And usually it wasn’t a big reinforcement, for example David Luiz or Willian.

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