In need of a new midfielder, Arsenal made firm efforts in signing Moisés Caicedo, but their multiple bids were not entertained by Brighton & Hove Albion in the winter market.
The Gunners’ failure to sign the Ecuadorian saw them make a late attempt for Jorginho. He arrived at the Emirates from Chelsea on deadline day of the January window.
Jorginho has made six appearances for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta was able to rely upon him, especially when Thomas Partey was out of action due to an injury.
Last month, the 31-year-old told DAZN Italia that a call from Arteta convinced him to join the north London club.
“Two days before the transfer market closed, we saw that Chelsea worked to sign Enzo Fernandez. Edu Gaspar wanted the boy [Jorginho] and so we made it happen,” he said.
“A new project. He did very well at Chelsea, winning a lot as a team and personally.”
When he left Chelsea, the midfielder had less than six months left on his contract. Had the former Napoli star failed to get a move away from the Bridge, he could have returned to Serie A in the summer.
When asked if he had any requests from Italy for Jorginho, Santos explained: “Not for January. We had talked to some teams for July.”
