Arsenal Can Still Find Space For Jorginho

Arsenal may not be able to land Jorginho this winter. That’s okay because there will be even more space for the Italian when the summer rolls around.

On a scale of one to never going to happen in the rest of human history, the links tying Jorginho to Arsenal were at about a five. Not bad. In the midst of the scramble to find a defensive midfielder, Jorginho was among the handful of top-quality midfielders that the Gunners were eyeing up.

Related Story: Daniel Rugani Should Still Be Top Priority

The Italian was keeping such company as Granit Xhaka, Lars Bender and Grzegorz Krychowiak. Yet it was Mohamed Elneny that emerged victorious. He may also have been the only horse ever to leave the gate. Or better yet, the only horse to even exist.

Whatever the case, just because Arsenal landed their man does not mean that the transfer rumors are going to dry up. Jorginho’s rumor well had ceased to draw water after it was made pretty clear that Napoli would not part with such a crucial piece to their title run. That makes sense. Who sells a midfielder in their starting XI when they hold top spot in their respective league?

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

Plus, Arsenal already signed Mohamed Elneny. Wenger is not known to opt for a surplus to requirement so adding two midfielders in one window never seemed a likely proposition. Even with the impending exodus. The return of Francis Coquelin is going to count as a transfer, remember?

All of this does not speak for the summer, however. In the summer, Arsenal will be losing Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky. Thus far, Arsenal have only added Elneny to compensate. That means that either Arsenal is going to get a lot younger, Arsenal is going to welcome some new faces, or Arsenal is going to get a lot thinner. Let’s hope it’s not the latter most option.

It’s true that Arsenal have a host of youngsters ready to impose themselves on the first team. Jon Toral, Isaac Hayden, Daniel Crowley, Krystian Bielik and Jeff Reine-Adelaide are all chomping at the bit to get into the action. However, few have made significant headway aside from Jon Toral. The rest of the bunch either have not shown us enough or are still so young that a little added help couldn’t hurt.

Enter Jorginho.

More from Arsenal Transfer Rumours

• Arsenal Transfers: Emile Smith Rowe could leave club before summer deadline
• Arsenal Transfers: Gabriel will not be leaving this summer
• Why Arsenal could sell Folarin Balogun to London rivals
• 5 defenders Arsenal could sign after Jurrien Timber injury
• Why was Kieran Tierney left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad?

The Brazilian-born, Italian footballer provides two things Arsenal always seem to be in need of – defensive midfield qualities and depth. Despite adding Elneny, Arsenal could always use more defensive midfield help. Even with their defensive midfielder total doubling from one to two.

That being said, Jorginho, like Elneny, is not a typical defensive midfielder. It’s like a stigma that Wenger has. He cannot sign a player that only plays one position. He always has to have another avenue to take a player down. See Danny Welbeck, Calum Chambers, Alexis Sanchez.

Jorginho would be the same thing. He plays as a straight up central midfielder for Napoli, but he has shown the abilities of a potential CAM and CDM. He averages over two tackles and two interceptions per game – that’s nothing to scoff at. Meanwhile, on the offensive end, he maintains a 91% pass completion and two key passes per game. Again, nothing to scoff at.

Clearly Jorginho has his head wrapped around being an all-encompassing midfield threat.

That is something Arsenal cannot have too much of. Seeing as how Ozil’s only real back up is Aaron Ramsey, who is used more in deeper rolls, Jorginho could find a nice bit of usefulness spotting Ozil the occasional breather.

Similarly, with Coquelin still the only true defensive midfielder and Elneny and Ramsey also playing deeper roles, one being unproven and one being a ‘forward thinker’, there would be plenty of room to assert himself into the starting XI talk. Plus, Santi Cazorla is not destined for much more than another year or two at Arsenal.

Next: Arsenal's Top 10 Comments

It would not be easy and the competition would be fierce, but that’s how improvements are made.