A year and a half ago, Jorginho was still competing with Messi for the Ballon d'Or. A year and a half later, he was swept away by Chelsea, who spent €331 million to bolster their squad in the winter window.
However, the 31-year-old quasi-Ballon d'Or midfielder is not a generic after all. Compared to competing with Messi for the best football of the year, helping Arsenal win the Premier League seems much simpler.
01. Quasi-Ballon d'Or midfielder: Come to Arsenal to continue the championship
a. Jorginho 2 years ago: at its best
If you turn back the clock to 2021, the then 29-year-old Jorginho is infinitely prosperous. Winning the Champions League and the European Super Cup with Chelsea helped Italy reach the top podium at the European Championship.
With three heavyweight titles in hand, Jorginho is the absolute workhorse and core of the midfield, and is considered by many to be the favourite for the Ballon d'Or.
In particular, the successful election of UEFA's best player, with silver pants in hand, is also an affirmation of Jorginho.
At the time, many people believed that he really had a chance to become another midfielder to win the Ballon d'Or after Modric, and he was also the first post-90s player to win the Ballon d'Or.
However, after Messi led Argentina to win the Copa America, the suspense of the Ballon d'Or disappeared. In particular, Jorginho subsequently missed consecutive penalties in the World Qualifiers, which caused his reputation to decline.
It even lost to Lewandowski, and finally only finished 3rd in the Golden Globes that year.
b. Swept away by Chelsea, who spent $331 million: Arsenal received an assist from their city rivals
In this winter transfer window, Chelsea have spent a staggering €331 million to bolster their squad. He bought Enzo Fernandes for $120 million in midfield, then sold Jorginho to Arsenal for just £12 million.
Jorginho was instantly integrated into Arsenal's squad, and his grooming and organization in midfield was significantly higher than that of his teammates. At the same time, Jorginho can also provide good defensive output, which is a good complement to the roster gap caused by Thomas' injury.
We can quote Jorginho's personal sentiment after bringing the kill: "This is the charm of the Premier League and why it is the best league in the world." "Here, talented players are not disappointed.
02. Jorginho becomes Arsenal midfield commander: he quickly retreats with the ball
a. He is a midfield commander: beautiful passes both horizontally and vertically
Arsenal's attacking system is Zinchenko's midfield, bringing Xhaka forward. At the same time, Saka is a strong side, and the full-backs also have a high proportion of outside lines.
Trossard, as a ball-carrying winger, is actually not as effective as Martinelli. Jorginho's appearance as a midfield commander also gave Odegaard more off-the-ball runs and unleashed a passing advantage.
Arsenal's most beautiful team attack in the first half was Jorginho's brilliant pass after receiving the ball in the middle, and his teammate on the right flanked and crossed in front of the goal, but Nketiah created chaos in front of goal, and the ball popped off the crossbar.
The linesman then signaled offside, but the ball could still be counted as a good ball if it was crossed. Unfortunately, I couldn't score points, so I didn't have to enable VAR.
Jorginho's passing is often not directly to his teammates to shoot, but to make full use of space or create the team's offensive depth.
This time it was Jorginho's keen straight stuff, Ben White followed up with a cross and Nketiah's header smashed across the crossbar to miss a good chance to score.
From the 80th to the 85th minute, Jorginho sent three beautiful straight cuts to his teammates in the opponent's penalty area during this period, resulting in many good scoring chances.
Jorginho's longitudinal spatial insight was strong, and Saka turned into the box after winning the ball and went straight to the goalkeeper.
Jorginho's straight ball was really high-quality, and Saka was actually such a catch-line this time, which was accurately grasped by the Italian.
Saka's last shot can also be a great threat if he doesn't shoot himself.
Jorginho has a certain ability to protect the ball in midfield, and can often use his body to protect the ball while dribbling to find a way out of the ball.
He has the ability to withstand the opponent's first defender's upper grab, and then send a wonderful pass to his lateral space teammates. Zinchenko's long-range shot opportunity was a masterpiece from Jorginho.
b. Shooting from a long shot is not an accident! As soon as Jorginho got the ball, the opponent began to retreat
Jorginho's biggest contribution in this game was not only the beautiful passing and playmaking, but also the groundbreaking long-range shot.
However, before the long-range shot, Jorginho's passing threat was too great, which brought about a change in the situation on the field.
It was precisely because Jorginho's passing threat was so great that as soon as he had the ball in the final moments of the game, the entire Aston Villa defence began to retreat sharply.
This scene is very interesting, Odegaard pulls back to get the ball, and the opponent presses forward. Seeing Jorginho take the ball, the Aston Villa defence retreated sharply.
In the end, Jorginho, who easily dribbled the ball forward, saw that there was no good chance to pass the ball, and could only distribute the ball to his teammates on the flanks. However, in this situation, Arsenal gradually began to gain more long-range shooting space in front of the penalty area.
Some people complain that the top of the Aston Villa penalty area is not defended, the problem is that the number of people is fixed, when the pressure on the wing and ribs is high, and defenders are needed to fill the space, then naturally the frontal defensive force will be weakened.
The quality of Jorginho's shot was too high, and Martinez was unlucky and bounced back with an own goal.
03. Not just attacking: Jorginho defends well
a. The defense also showed well: Jorginho picked positions and predicted better
A good midfielder naturally can't just attack, and Jorginho's defensive stats have always been good.
He is characterized by position selection and anticipation, and the first movement is more agile and timely. Although Arsenal's defensive stats are not as good as those of Chelsea (related to the way the team plays), Jorginho's defensive performance can still be recognized.
In this wave of attack, Jorginho's direct ball to Tomiyasu Kenyo was very beautiful. Although the latter's cross was blocked, Villa found an opportunity to counter-attack.
However, Jorginho's first tackle, as well as the quick rise to grab the second player, was impressive (the referee blew the handball).
It can be seen that Jorginho is not the type of opponent, but his selection and anticipation of the ball are very good. This time the Villa player made a slight mistake in the stoppage and Jorginho quickly moved into place to complete the destruction.
Jorginho's strength is of a mid-level level, and his strength is his good accuracy in his feet.
In this wave of defense, it is Jorginho who is accurate and can always kick the ball. Although they could not break the ball completely, it also made the opponent uncomfortable, and Arsenal got a chance on the touchline.
b. Regain the lead: Arsenal's belief in winning the title is important
Arsenal's lead was eaten away by a 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester City in the last round of the Premier League. However, they showed their determination to win the title when they were 2-1 down at half-time, and they were able to reverse the momentum very well.
Especially in the first half of the second half, Arsenal had a 10-0 shooting advantage, and they were eager to win the title, so they could also be strong (the opponent played the crossbar, and the side got the kill).
Because Manchester City were unexpectedly forced to draw by Nottingham Forest, Arsenal were two points ahead of Manchester City with one less game. Even if they lose away to the Blue Moon Army, they still have the lead.
With a margin of error, Arsenal will also be more confident and the pressure on Manchester City will increase. In terms of strength, Arsenal is indeed inferior to their opponents, but in terms of mentality, the Gunners are clearly superior.
Conclusion:
The season is long, and if you want to win the league, you need a more consistent daily output. The strong dialogue between 1 and 2 games will not directly determine the ownership of the league champion, which is also Arsenal's confidence in suppressing Manchester City.
In particular, their signings this season have been successful, from Jesus to Jorginho, and if the team can achieve their dreams, the head of transfer marketing will deserve more applause like manager Mikel Arteta.