With Arsenal’s appeal Jorginho’s cheeky approach to Gabriel Martinelli comes full circle.
The Chelsea midfielder clearly rates one Arsenal player, Gabriel Martinelli, as reports suggest the Gunners are interested in bringing the Blues star to North London. Italy international Jorginho once tried to convince Gabriel Martinelli to represent the Azzurri and could soon consider himself a club teammate of the winger as Arsenal show interest in the Chelsea midfielder.
The Gunners winger has now established himself as a Brazilian international and represented the Selecao at the Qatar World Cup, but he previously told how the Blues ace tried to persuade him to join Italy.
Martinelli has dual Brazilian-Italian citizenship, whereas Jorginho could have worn Brazilian yellow, but the duo ended up making opposing decisions. When asked if anyone had approached him about representing Italy, Martinelli mentioned Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.
“No one spoke to me; only Jorginho once told me, ‘I hope to see you in March,’ or something along those lines, but no one [official] spoke to me, no.” Globo reported him saying: “As I have stated, my desire has always been to play for Brazil. I was only waiting for the chance to play for Brazil.”
Jorginho might be meeting Martinelli very soon, with the winger’s club Arsenal emerging as a surprise bidder of the Italian European Championship winner.
The Gunners are desperate for midfield reinforcements, with Mohamed Elneny expected to miss the rest of the league season, and manager Mikel Arteta is a long-time admirer of Jorginho.
Arsenal were heavily linked with a move for Jorginho during the summer transfer window of 2020, but instead signed Thomas Partey to reinforce their midfield.
Any deal for the Chelsea midfielder would signal the end of Arsenal’s hopes of signing first-choice target Moises Caciedo.
Despite the fact that the 21-year-old has openly stated his desire to leave, his club Brighton have stated unequivocally that he will not be leaving before the transfer window closes.
Arsenal has already made two formal bids for its outstanding midfielder, the most recent of which is reported to be about £70 million plus add-ons.
The Gunners would almost certainly have to break their club transfer record if they are to sign Caicedo, who has been warned to stay away from Brighton’s training complex until the window closes.
As a result, Jorginho has become a much cheaper option for manager Arteta to bring to the Emirates to assist the Gunners win their first Premier League title since 2004.
