Arsenal’s masterstroke

LONDON. — Arsenal finally turned their back on Moises Caicedo and opted for a cutprice swoop for Jorginho instead — and it could prove a masterstroke.

The Gunners saw bids of £60 million and £70m rejected by Brighton as Caicedo (21) failed to secure a move despite publicly begging to be sold.

And while Arsenal were reportedly lining up a third offer of £75m on deadline day, they have now agreed a deal with London rivals Chelsea to sign Jorginho (31) for just £12m.

He may not have been Mikel Arteta’s first choice, but the Italy international is a worldclass operator who will push Granit Xhaka (30) and Thomas Partey (29) for a starting place.

New stats have even revealed he could be a better option than both Partey and Caicedo.

Since the start of the 2021-22 English Premier League season, Jorginho has played seven games more than Partey and 21 more than Caicedo. His penalty expertise has seen him register eight goals, more than his two counterparts have managed between them (Partey 4 and Caicedo 2).

And the Italian also has two assists to his name — with neither Caicedo (2) or Partey (1) bettering that tally. But that’s only scratching the surface when it comes to Jorginho’s impressive numbers.

Out of the three midfield maestros, he also completes the most passes per game, has the best pass completion rate and registers the most passes in the final third.

Jorginho dwarfs Partey and Caicedo when it comes to possessions won per game, while he also beats the Ghanaian when it comes to tackles and interceptions.

In fact, there are only three statistical areas which show the ex-Chelsea man’s weaknesses.

He comes up short in distance carried — an area which Partey beats him by an average of 14 metres. Jorginho, who is a decade older than Caicedo, is dribbled past more than the pair, and his duel success is also the lowest.

But overall the figures are overwhelmingly in favour of the Euro 2020 winner.

And his price tag also means Arsenal have saved themselves a large sum of money - particularly given Brighton were asking for £80m for Caicedo.

Jorginho could make his debut for the Gunners away at Everton on Sunday.

If he is not ready in time, his first game will then come at home to Brentford on February 11. Meanwhile, Arsenal face losing Mohamed Elneny for the rest of the season after he was ruled out with a “significant” knee injury.

The midfielder sustained an injury in training and was forced to go under the knife.

Arsenal confirmed the news in a statement that leaves Elneny’s season in doubt.

A statement read: “Mo has had successful surgery in London and will be ruled out for an extended period of time.

“A more detailed timescale will be established once the early stages of rehabilitation have been completed.

“Everyone at the club will be offering Mo all the support he needs and working hard with him so he can return to action as soon as possible.” — The Sun