He’s a Elneny upgrade rather than a Partey one. I think he’ll be alright for us, he’s a good player. Past his best probably but he’s an intelligent player and think he will do a job when needed.

We are one of the most compact sides in the league, especially when Zinchenko comes into midfield. So we should be able to help mask his mobility issues.

I'm still underwhelmed but I admit I've never really watched him. I guess we're keeping our cash for Rice.

If he helps us win the league though he'll be a hero so let's go Jorginho.

There were a couple of things I was wary of when we were first linked to Jorginho - length of the contract, transfer fees, and his wages because they would eventually impactour ability to spend big on the midfield upgrade in the summer.

However, signing him for 18 months is something I can live with even though he is another over-the-hill Chelsea surplus signing. The big difference with this signing compared to the others though is very clear. Each of the previous players we signed were for the first team and were expected to raise the ceiling of the team at that time. With Jorginho, he is being signed primarily as a back-up to raise the floor of the team. That is what this window has been about. I, like most of the Arsenal fans, am hardwired to hate him (Chelsea connection, antics on the field etc.) but no one can seriously state that he isn't streets ahead of Elneny and Sambi. He was the engine in a CL and Euros winning squad 18 months ago and while he has declined, he is still very useful and tidy, especially as a back-up.

We have a maximum on 26 games left this season (19 in the league +7 in the EL if we go all the way) and if things work out, he won't even have to play more than 10. We just need to give him the EL games and if Partey is still in the red zone, Jorginho can easily come in and play against teams like Everton, Bournemouth, Palace etc. at home without us missing too much. Even games like Leeds and Soton away, where we struggled in the second half to control the game, I think he would be brilliant to come in and dictate the tempo.

Overall, this is a low-risk, ready to go, floor raising signing that can propel us to the title. Especially considering the experience he will bring as well. I think people's dislike of him and our past experiences of signing Chelsea players is clouding the judgement of a lot of people.

Just don't let him take penalties, that's all.

P.S. - Welcome to The Arsenal, Jorginho.

    Another thing is that I think fans in general are scared shitless of losing Partey especially based on what happened last season after he got injured. But we are a completely different team now and our ability to cope without Partey this season is far better than last season.

    For instance, we beat Villa (albeit under Gerrard) and Fulham (currently 7th) at home without him and also dominated United at OT. The biggest aspect of Partey's game we missed last season when he was out was our ability to progress the ball and play between the lines. That is exactly what Jorginho's strength is. We lose out a little defensively in transition with Jorginho instead of Partey but we should still be good enough to beat 80% of the teams in the league.

    The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Not the long-term rebuild signing we wanted, but that can wait till the summer.

    Having in mind that Jorginho is plan b, short term signing, I think we couldn't do much better tbh.

    Good backup given the terrible options left after leaving CM as a secondary consideration until the second half of January. We could blame Arteta and Edu for that.

    He's much better than Elneny and will offer us great backup if Partey goes down. Plus we hold on to the real dosh for the summer.

    I think he'll find the refs don't let him get away with so much shithousery in the red and white.

    I'm ok with this Elneny upgrade.

    Pretty underwhelming signing for me, but Arteta has earned some trust on this. I guess he has a relationship with the player and really believes he fits a role in the system. Maybe he's a player for Europa and easier games as others have mentioned. I just think we'd want someone who is athletic and can play long passes. Too Emirates-Wengerish for me.

    But IMO even if we got Caicedo, it would be very hard for us to win the league if Partey can't play the majority of our remaining matches (especially the big ones). He's so integral to how we play.

    the good thing is we control the shape and tempo of most games, and that's the environment jorginho works pretty well in. it's why pep wanted him at city before they got rodri. at Europa League level he can be an important rudder for the team. ideally he's only ever back-up in league games

    we've brought up the floor with guys like trossard and jorginho. in the summer its time to raise the roof

    I am Arsenal Till I Die
    Top post this. Agree with everything you said.

    Other thing with Jorginho is he will bring the necessary work ethic. I once watched an interview with him and his mother. You could tell that this was a highly ambitious, determined, resourceful, family-oriented guy. He’s not John terry leaving his SUV in the people with disabilities parking.

      Do not like him but for the first time in a long time, I trust the coach. If he thinks he can do a job for us...then ok.

      Good player, good deal. Gives us necessary depth in the short term.

      Hi guys, happy new year.

      I wanted to wait until the end of the window to write again as usually transfer windows piss me off when 80% of the time we dont buy the players we need.

      This transfer window has been good imo. It may not look as good due to Chelsea buying 100 players. But much better than Jan 2008 and Jan 2016 (our last 'title challenging' seasons). Much better than last Jan as well of course.

      Anyway, bit gutted we didnt grab the Ukrainian Wizard but I have wishlisted Trossard for over a year now so was ecstatic we signed the Belgian as I really, really rate him. As we've seen already he is going to be an asset for us and is coming in at the absolute peak of his powers. Hope he goes on a Red Head Freddie goalscroring run of Spring 2002...

      Happy with Jorg as well, think that will prove to be a shrewd signing, he may be slightly underrated on here but his quality will come through in time. The guy was a major reason Italy won the Euros imo.

      Hope everyone has kept well, what a time to support our club. Re title race, lets fucking go for it, we got nothing to lose, we got an unreal chance now, unreal. This could be a once in a 10-15 year opportunity, let go for it and have no regrets.

      COYG!

      P.S: Auba is shit.

      Seems we’ve had interest for a while. Arteta knows how to pick them, so I’m hopeful that this will work out.

      Good thing is he should just slot in like a glove without needing any adaptation. Much easier to fit into to a functioning side as well. Will be interesting to see if Arteta is more willing to sub Partey off now, best way to protect him.

        Sounds like he was well respected in the Chelsea dressing room, a positive strong voice in the dressing room certainly will help in the last stretch of the season.