"That's not the case at all..." - Expert claims one Arsenal signing is completely misunderstood

Arsenal would have signed Jorginho even if a deal for Moises Caicedo had been secured, according to a reputed journalist.

The Gunners went into the January transfer window looking to consolidate their place at the summit of the Premier League.

In a bid to win their first title since the Invincible season in 2003/04, Arsenal placed a club-record bid for Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk while they also attempted to secure a deal for Brighton’s Caicedo.

Yet the league leaders’ deal for Mudryk was ultimately hijacked by Chelsea, while Brighton rebuffed both of the Gunners' bids, worth up to £70million, for their 21-year-old midfielder.

Arsenal did secure three January signings, however - Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior and Jorginho - with the latter arriving on Deadline Day as the club gave up on their attempts to sign Caicedo.

Jorginho signing misunderstood

Transfer expert Steve Kay insisted Arsenal did not purely sign Jorginho because they could not get a deal over the line for Caicedo.

The Italy international made the switch to north London from Chelsea for an initial fee of £10million.

Speaking to Italian Football News, Kay explained: “Firstly, very similar to [Jakub] Kiwior, Jorginho has been tracked by our setup for a very long time.

“A lot of people seem to think that he was the second choice after Caicedo and then there’s sort of a panic that they obtained their second choice within the midfield.

“However, that’s not the case at all as it’s a £10m signing of £2m add-ons, obviously that’s all going to be connected with the title.

"What I’ve tried to explain to people is that with Caicedo, if he would have come in, Jorginho would have still come into the squad. He just fits in perfectly with what Arteta wants. He can play many positions as he also covers Thomas Partey and plays alongside Granit Xhaka, which is essential.

“He has split the Arsenal fan base a little bit, but he’s got proven Premiership experience.”

The transfer expert added: “As I say, he’s won everything and thought it was excellent as signing. You could see, he’s going to fit in perfectly.

“But like I said, again, he was not a replacement for Caicedo and was not last ditch thing. He is someone who’s been looked at for a long time and it was always coming in whether Caicedo came in. I think he could be the missing link to lead Arsenal towards winning the title.”

Topics: Football, Jorginho, Moises Caicedo, Brighton And Hove Albion, Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, Transfers

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.