£12m Arsenal player says Mikel Arteta wanted to sign him multiple times before he joined

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Jorginho has suggested that Mikel Arteta made several attempts to sign him for Arsenal before he finally joined the Gunners last January.

Jorginho was speaking on The Athletic Football Podcast as he was asked why the Arsenal boss wanted to bring him to the Emirates.

There was certainly plenty of surprise when the Gunners were being linked with the Italy international. While he has had a brilliant career, it was surely fair to say that his final months at Chelsea were very underwhelming. And Arsenal were challenging for a Premier League title.

Jorginho says Mikel Arteta wanted to sign him several times before he joined Arsenal

But Jorginho proved to be a shrewd signing, certainly at £12 million. He has produced some really impressive displays for the Gunners. And he definitely appears to have an important role in Mikel Arteta‘s ranks, often coming off the bench to help see games out.

Arteta will be particularly satisfied with how Jorginho has fared since joining the club. It turns out that the move had been some time coming, as the midfielder was asked why the Arsenal boss wanted him.

“Maybe that’s a question for him! He tried to sign me a few times and we had this conversation and he was like, OK this is going to be the last time that I try,” he told The Athletic Football Podcast.

“But I think he relies on my qualities, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well because all I want and all I try to do is help and help all my teammates and everyone at the club.

“I help the staff bringing my experience, my mentality of wanting to win all the time and I think he brought me in hoping that I could add all this stuff.”

Midfielder could help Gunners get across the line

Of course, some may have their frustrations that Arsenal signed Jorginho when they were in contention for the title. Obviously, it would have been a game-changer if they could have signed Declan Rice a few months earlier, for example.

But those marquee moves are even more difficult in January. For the money they paid, they secured a bargain in today’s game.

He brings some much-needed experience to a youthful Arsenal side. And given what he has won in his career, he is going to be invaluable as the Gunners look to get themselves across the line and win silverware again.