There weren’t too many Chelsea fans who were overly disappointed to see the much-maligned Jorginho leave in January, with some even thinking the often-ponderous Italian could do more harm to Arsenal’s title credentials than good.
Instead, amid several other transfer decisions that currently look questionable, Chelsea could have in fact inadvertently boosted their London rivals’ hopes of a first league title in 19 years.
More at home in a possession-based team, Jorginho effortlessly controlled the ebb and flow of the match at Leicester City on Saturday, navigating his side through a potential banana skin without breaking sweat.
Nobody on the pitch at the King Power Stadium made more touches, tackles or completed passes than Jorginho, all while guiding his teammates with his gesticulations and instructions as much as his inch-perfect pickouts.
One particular pass on Saturday summed up what Jorginho can offer. Nobody else would have even considered, never mind executed, the superb slide-rule slot into Bukayo Saka early in the match. The play was not developing at any pace, players were stationary, but the accuracy and weight on the pass were unteachable.
The 31-year-old was capable of such at Chelsea, but supporters felt they were not treated the spectacle enough. Bonus moments of impact, however, which is what a January signing is often brought in to do, is just what Arsenal had in mind when taking Jorginho off their rivals’ hands.
“He’s a great player, we saw that from the first day when he came here,” Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said after the pivotal win at Leicester that kept the Gunners five points clear the top of the table.
“He brings a lot of quality, he’s very calm on the ball, finds the right passes and dictates the game. He’s nice to play with. Jorginho especially has a lot of experience. He’s won a lot of things, brings that mentality into the team and helps the young players. It’s great to have him on board.”
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This is not how it was supposed to pan out in Chelsea fans’ eyes. A Jorginho sideways pass would more often than not be greeted by a chorus of groans at Stamford Bridge. A nice luxury to have when things were going well, but a perceived lack of dynamism when results were less rosy made him a target for supporter angst.
With other game-changers in the ranks at Arsenal, the skipper Odegaard, often unplayable Saka and even the recently-reborn Eddie Nketiah, helping the Gunners stay on course for a long-awaited, most surprising title this term, Jorginho has been left to do what he does and calm proceedings when necessary.
The naysayers keep believing Arsenal will fall away, with “once a few injuries kick in” the usual rationale. But just as Nketiah has done in Gabriel Jesus’s absence, Jorginho has ensured Thomas Partey’s injury layoff has passed over smoother than anyone expected.
The January transfer window waters are notoriously choppy. Many of the game’s best coaches are more than reluctant to dip their toes in and will only bolster the ranks in the winter months should they be desperate.
Arsenal, however, have had more joy than others with their January punts. Nicolas Anelka, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Touré, Jose Antonio Reyes, Andrey Arshavin and Thierry Henry 2.0 all came in during the month of January, all making positive contributions to the various guises of Gunners.
This season, with Leandro Trossard also looking like an astute piece of business, allowed to be that calming influence on a high energy side – Jorginho’s modus operandi – £12m seems like a steal for a player who, on his day, can still influence games like few others can.
Man Utd's most loyal servant should be dropped for good