Ian Wright suggests that £12m Arsenal player didn’t look match sharp against Tottenham

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Ian Wright has admitted that Arsenal midfielder Jorginho didn’t look sharp when he faced Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Speaking on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, the Arsenal legend shared his thoughts on a tricky North London derby.

Spurs went into the match with their strongest line-up, giving new signing Brennan Johnson his full debut.

Mikel Arteta didn’t have the same luxury with four key players ruled out before the match.

Losing Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard meant shifting Gabriel Jesus out wide which didn’t look to particularly suit him on Sunday.

Things got worse when Declan Rice was substituted at half-time.

Arteta looked to his bench and brought on Italian international Jorginho, however, it wasn’t his best performance.

Wright has suggested that Jorginho didn’t look up to speed against Tottenham.

He made the mistake that led to the visitor’s second goal.

Immediately after Bukayo Saka’s spot kick, he had plenty of time and space to play a pass.

Instead, he was caught by James Maddison who set up Son Heung-min for Tottenham’s second goal.

Wright unsure about Jorginho sharpness vs Tottenham

Speaking about the change Arteta was forced into, Wright said: “The feeling I had when Declan Rice went off the first we’re playing properly without him, I just felt like we looked like a different team.

“Obviously we saw what Jorginho did and that probably comes down to match sharpness.

“When you look at him when the ball went to him, he had oceans of space, he had maybe two or three options and he just didn’t sort his feet out quick enough and they were on us.

“And that again with [James] Maddison, recognising how quickly he’s not got this, he just looked up at a time and as he looked down Maddison was in his face, won the ball and then once that happened you just felt goal.”

The £12m midfielder has been a fine option for Arteta since he arrived from Chelsea in January.

However, Jorginho had only played 30 minutes of football before the Tottenham match which seems to prove Wright’s point.

His teammates publicly supported him after his error showing the team spirit Arteta has created at the club.

It will be interesting to see how long Rice is ruled out for and if Jorginho will be promoted to the starting line-up as a result.