Mikel Arteta responds to Arsenal fans’ fears that Jorginho will be another Chelsea flop

Jorginho joined Arsenal from Chelsea on transfer deadline day (Picture: Getty / Hayters TV)

Mikel Arteta is confident Arsenal haven’t signed another Chelsea dud in the shape of his deadline day purchase, Jorginho.

The Gunners were desperate to bolster their central midfield options, even before the season-ending injury suffered by Mohamed Elneny.

Sporting director Edu tabled a club record bid for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, but the Seagulls refused to countenance the sale of the Ecuador international, having already lost the likes of Leandro Trossard, Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella over the course of the last six months.

As a result, Arsenal switched their attentions to Jorginho who was deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea following their record purchase of Enzo Fernandez.

The path from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates has been well trodden in recent years, but the likes of Willian, David Luiz and Petr Cech never came close to replicating the form they showed in Chelsea blue during their time in north London.

Arteta insists he understands the reservations about recruiting another Chelsea old-boy whose best days might be behind him, but is adamant the 31-year-old will add qualities his current squad lacked.

He said: ‘I think every time you sign a player you generate some debate. Maybe they don’t have the experience, maybe they are too young or not that well known, or whatever.

‘We have a criteria, we do a lot of work behind the scenes to try to understand the profile that we want and this is football and unfortunately you don’t always get it right.

‘We put all the work and intention in to make it work and I’m confident that this one will be good.’

All told, Arsenal added three players to their squad in January but also allowed the likes of Albert Sambi Lokonga and Marquinhos to leave on loan.

Arsenal made a club-record bid for Moises Caicedo during the January transfer window (Picture: Getty)

Asked if he was satisfied with the size of the squad he has at his disposal, Arteta said: ‘I am happy because we have added versatility, quality and leadership in the squad and now we have to prove it.

‘We have to give those players the chance to give a different edge to the team and give us more options.

‘We have more capacity to change games and more capacity to rotate the squad because we are going to need that.’

Having missed out on Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk, Arsenal spent less than they had initially intended to in January, but Arteta played down the idea that a more frugal approach last month would result in a major summer splurge.

He said: ‘That’s a question for the owner. I don’t think it works like that, we need to maintain the discipline and respect what we believe is right and what we can afford and how we evolve the squad we have.’

MORE : Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira explains why he signed Arsenal star Albert Sambi Lokonga

MORE : Roberto De Zerbi issues plea to Brighton fans after Arsenal failed to sign Moises Caicedo

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The signings of Willian and David Luiz haven’t worked out in the past.