Merson says he felt sorry for Arsenal player after Everton defeat

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Paul Merson has told Sportskeeda that he felt sorry for Jorginho after he was brought on during Arsenal’s defeat to Everton at the weekend, claiming that Mikel Arteta brought him on at the wrong time.

Few signings have divided Gunners fans quite like Jorginho over the last couple of windows. The Italian arrived on deadline day as Arsenal failed to land one of their top targets.

Of course, Arsenal are in a much better place than when they signed players from Chelsea in the past. And it appears to be a really shrewd signing for the club as they look to go on and win the Premier League title.

Merson defends Jorginho after Arsenal debut

Unfortunately, Jorginho’s time at Arsenal has not got off to the best start.

The 31-year-old came on just before the hour-mark during the trip to Everton. At the time, Arsenal were trying to get some sort of momentum going after a tough time against the Toffees.

However, within a couple of minutes, Sean Dyche’s men had taken the lead. And they went on to hold on to secure a massive win in their fight to stay in the Premier League.

It is hard to be critical of Jorginho. And Merson has gone a step further, suggesting that it was almost a little unfair to bring him on.

“If Arsenal had defeated Everton last week, they would’ve won the Premier League,” he told Sportskeeda. “They would’ve gone eight points clear at the top with a game in hand. Everton had a lot of energy about them, and I felt sorry for Jorginho the other day. I didn’t think it was the right time to bring him on.”

The problem for Jorginho is that he is going to largely have to rely on substitute appearances if he is going to feature for the Gunners. The starting midfield have been sensational this season. And if they remain lucky with injuries, it is likely that they will continue to see out of the campaign.

So if Arteta is going to bring him on, he needs the January signing to make an impact.

It is no surprise that he was unable to do that when Arsenal were already struggling at Goodison Park. But hopefully, he can now kick on from here.