Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Jorginho ANNOUNCED, shirt number revealed, Moises Caicedo LATEST, Declan Rice update
ARSENAL have announced the deadline day signing of Jorginho from Chelsea for a fee of £12m.
The Gunners were forced to turn to Plan B having failed to land top target Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
Follow ALL the action from the Emirates with our live blog below...
Signings 'won't start'
Former Arsenal defender Mikle Silvestre believes that neither Leandro Trossard or Jorginho are good enough to start for the club.
He told Betting Expert: “Trossard was clearly not number one on the list. It was Mudryk.
“Both signings are fringe players but they will add quality.
“I don’t expect them to start but they are quality players that fit Arsenal’s style of play. They are not expensive so they are good purchases.”
McCoist slams Arsenal's Jorginho move
Ally McCoist has labelled Arsenal's acquisition of Chelsea midfielder Jorginho as "not good".
He told talkSPORT: "Not a good move for Arsenal, he’s not mobile or high energy enough for Arsenal.
"Are you actually telling me you’re signing players from [Chelsea] as bench players?
"You’ve got to be signing players that will strengthen your team, first and foremost.
"I know you want a squad of 18, but you want as much like for like as you can.
"I don’t see it as a great move. Nothing to do with the financials, I actually think Chelsea are getting the better deal."
When is Everton vs Arsenal?
Arsenal will be hoping to avoid a new manager bounce when they face Sean Dyche's Everton this weekend.
Here is when and where the match will be:
- Everton's mouthwatering match against league leaders Arsenal will take place on Saturday, February 4.
- It is scheduled to get underway at 12:30pm GMT
- Goodison Park is the allocated arena for this lunchtime encounter and it can host approximately 39,572.
- Arsenal thrashed Everton 5-1 when the sides last met in a competitive fixture.
Campbell backs Jorginho to impress
Former Gunner Kevin Campbell believes that new signing Jorginho will be able to help the team with his "experience".
He told Sky Sports: “I like it, I know a lot of the fan base is thinking another Chelsea player etc.
“But he’s experienced, he’s smart, he’s a good user of the ball and he’s somebody who can sit at the base of the midfield if Thomas Partey isn’t there or isn’t playing and dictate the play.
“That’s what Arsenal have lacked. Elneny usually comes in and does a good job, Lokonga hasn’t been the signing that everybody thought he could be and develop into so getting some more experience in that midfield is important.
“Right now, when you look at 18 months, Arsenal have big ambitions and he’s a proven Champions League player. Good business.”
Arsenal support Conte
Arsenal's official Twitter account has wished Tottenham manager Antonio Conte a "speedy recovery" following his recent health scare.
The Italian boss was rushed to hospital to undergo gallbladder surgery after suffering from severe abdominal pain.
Tottenham have confirmed their manager has been diagnosed with cholecystitis, which is inflammation of the gallbladder.
And he will now go under the knife to have his gallbladder removed.
Arsenal 'expected to trigger Elneny deal'
Arsenal are reported set to extend Mohamed Elneny's contract at the Emirates Stadium.
According to PA reporter Mark Mann-Bryans, the decision has not been impacted by the midfielder's injury.
He wrote: “Expecting Arsenal to trigger Mohamed Elneny’s option to extend his contract by a further 12 months.
“Conversations underway and injury has not had an impact on the decision, which could be announced in the next week or so.”
Mavropanos has a shocker
Ex-Arsenal flop Konstantinos Mavropanos has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons after he scored a fifty-yard own goal.
The Greek defender spent four years with the Gunners after his switch from PAS Giannina in 2018.
He got the ball from a throw-in near the halfway line and then tried to backpass to keeper Florian Muller.
But the Stuggart man got it all wrong as it was out of the German's reach and it rolled into the goal.
Luckily he was spared blushes as his side scored two late goals to win the clash against Paderborn.
However, the agent has kept the door open to a move in the future, but admitted that it would be a "historic sale" for the Spanish club.
He added: “Over the weekend, we already informed Real Valladolid that there was not going to be any offer, that he was not going to leave in the winter market.
“For us, it is not a bad situation, no drama, quite the opposite. Ivan is happy to play for Real Valladolid, to be under the orders of Pacheta, who is the one who has allowed him to enjoy the way he is doing now.
“If one day he has to leave, we would like it to be a historic sale for the club.”
Agent reveals why Fresneda rejected Gunners
The promising right back wants to keep his "feet on the ground" before rushing into a decision about his future.
Ivan Fresneda's agent, Luis Bardaji, told AS: “There have been around 30 teams interested. But the truth is that he has hardly aroused interest in Spanish football, but in Germany, France or England there has been interest.
“Some because they had a specific need in this market and others with a vision of the future, but times are what they are.
“Fresneda will be at Real Valladolid until the end of the season. We want him to have his feet on the ground and in other teams he was not going to have the continuity he needs now.”
Arsenal had 'two options' before Jorginho
Arsenal reportedly considered two players before opting to sign Jorginho from Chelsea.
The Gunners looked at Ajax's Edson Alvarez and Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi, according to The Athletic.
Zubimendi's release clause of £53million was deemed too much money, while Mikel Arteta preferred Jorginho to Alvarez.
Sutton 'surprised' at Jorginho move
Chris Sutton revealed that it shocked him that Chelsea were helping Arsenal in their fight to win the Premier League.
He wrote in the Daily Mail: "I’m surprised he’s gone to Arsenal and Chelsea are helping Arsenal.
"I think, from Arsenal’s point of view, he may be the signing which helps him win the Premier League. I think that he’s a really talented player.
"This looks like a compromise because they’re saying 'we’re not going to get Moises Caicedo and we’re not going to get Declan Rice in this window'. At 31 it’s a good piece of business, for £10m or £12m it’s cheap as chips.
"From Arsenal’s point of view, that’s a 10/10 signing. I really think that’s a no brainer and a smart piece of business."
Everton unchanged ahead of Arsenal clash
Arsenal will face an unstrengthened Everton side when they play on Saturday.
The Toffees have replaced manager Frank Lampard with Sean Dyche, but were unable to bring in any players during the January transfer window.
Cedric happy to be at Fulham
Cedric Soares has revealed that he and his family are "really happy" to have moved to Fulham from Arsenal
Cedric told FFCtv: “I feel great. I wanted this deal to happen, so we all pushed in the same direction, and I’m really happy and pleased to be here.
“Me and my family are really, really happy for this move. It’s a great move and I can’t wait to start.”
Stokes charged
Ex-Arsenal star Antony Stokes has been charged with dangerous driving just weeks after a first arrest for the same offence.
Stokes was held following an alleged police chase in Dublin through red lights in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The 34-year-old has been charged with dangerous driving and failure to provide a sample when required.
Former Irish international Stokes is due to appear before Dun Laoghaire District Court at a later date.
It comes just weeks after the forward was arrested when almost £4,000 worth of suspected cocaine was found in a car.
He was also allegedly involved in a police pursuit in that incident too after the vehicle sped off from cops.
He is due to appear in court on Friday over that alleged incident.
Lokonga 'excited' for Palace loan
Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga is looking forward to getting down to work at his temporary home Crystal Palace.
He told the club media: “I’m really excited – I can’t wait to get started.
“I’m really happy to join Crystal Palace. I want to go as far as possible with the team.
“I will try to push for me and the team to do the maximum to reach the top.”
The Belgian joined the club on a loan deal for the remainder of the season.
Arsenal backed for summer splurge
Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has revealed that the Gunners will make moves for Brighton's Moises Caicedo and West Ham's Declan Rice this summer.
He said on Sky Sports: “I’m told Jorginho is not as an alternative to Moises Caicedo. I understand Arsenal were, at any time, ready to do a deal for Caicedo on deadline day if in the unlikely circumstance that Brighton changed their stance.
“Brighton’s stance though has been firm: Moises Caicedo is NOT for sale in January. That has now been confirmed to me: Caicedo will not join Arsenal in January. I’m told that whatever they were to bid, Brighton were simply not going to accept.
“This though will then fast forward into the summer if he does not sign a new contract.
"We’re going to have another saga again: Caicedo to Arsenal; Rice to Arsenal. Arsenal are in for both of those, we believe, in the summer.”
Jorginho's speed a concern
Some Arsenal fans do have one reservation over the signing of new man Jorginho.
The Italian is not the quickest player in the Premier League, and a video that has emerged has shown referee Michael Oliver overtaking him in a sprint has caused concern.
One said on Twitter: "This is what scares me the most."
Another tweeted: "Jorginho couldn't outrun the referee! We're doomed..."
Morgan takes pop at Chelsea's spend
Arsenal fan Piers Morgan has hit out at Chelsea's massive spend over the past year.
He tweeted: "Reminder to Chelsea fans: we’re top of the League, you’re 10th, and we’re 21pts ahead of you with a game in hand.
"So spend all the gazillions you want but what you REALLY need to buy is a telescope�� to look up at Arsenal."
Carragher on Jorginho signing
He told SkySports: “Arsenal have gone for [Moises] Caicedo, but maybe they cannot get that done from Brighton, so they have gone for Jorginho, who is an interesting one,
“I can totally understand it, but I was listening to people talk about it today, and he is not the sort of style for Arsenal’s play, which is so quick, fast and energetic now and he is the opposite of that and I get that argument.
“But I also think that with maybe 10 games to go in the season, when they might actually need cool heads, when there is a pressure moment and the nerves are coming on in that title run, he may actually be a really good signing in terms of slowing things down with a cool head.
“He is a player that has won the Champions League, he has won a European Championship in the last few years, so he is a top player, there is no doubt about that, but he is a different style of player.
“But I am not saying that is for Arsenal week in, week out forever, but I think that could be a big help for them towards the end of the season when they get nervous.”
Jorginho 'the man' for Arsenal
Gianfranco Zola believes that Arsenal's new signing Jorginho is a perfect fit for the team.
The Italian told SunSport: "If you are a team that wants to be organised, a passing team, then Jorgo is the man.
"He is always in the right place supporting defenders and the other midfielders when they have the ball.
"He is always available when the ball is becoming hot. This is a player who never hides and you can rely on him all the time.
"A lot of players under pressure don’t want the ball but Jorgo is not one of them.
"When you have a player who does not hide when you need to control a game under pressure, you value him a lot. Maybe at times people don’t see this."
Arsenal's deadline day recap
In
Jorginho - £12million
Oulad M'hand - recalled from loan
Out
Cedric Soares - loan
Albert Sambi Lokonga - loan
Marquinhos - loan
Foran - loan
Butler-Oyedeji - loan
Rekik - loan
Morning Arsenal fans
The Gunners are still tipped to move for Declan Rice AND Moises Caicedo in the summer - despite Jorginho's surprise arrival.
Chelsea's Italy star Jorginho, 31, was boss Mikel Arteta's £12million deadline-day answer to his need for midfield cover.
It followed Brighton holding out for £75m for Ecuador powerhouse Caicedo.
But West Ham and England hero Rice, 24, remains Arsenal's long-term priority target.
And it's also claimed Arteta is willing to bid again for Caicedo at the end of the season.
Crystal Palace have borrowed Albert Sambi Lokonga until the summer.
That's partly because Jorginho's signing relegates the Belgian from being first-choice back-up to key Gunners' pairing Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.
Any hopes Arsenal had of landing Real Valladolid right-back Ivan Fresneda, 18, disappeared in the final hours of deadline day.
But it won't be a surprise if Arsenal come back in for the Spaniard, who has also been linked to Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, at the end of the season.
Finally, there's talk once more of Manchester City making a summer move for England winger Bukayo Saka.
Before then, though, the 21-year-old is expected to sign a new Arsenal contract.
City could move for Saka in summer
Manchester City might move for Bukayo Saka in the summer - even though he's expected to sign a new Arsenal contract before then.
That's the claim this evening - with a last-ditch January move regarded as extremely unlikely.
The Gunners are confident Saka will follow fellow wideman Gabriel Martinelli in signing a long-term deal.
But it's thought City might still launch a huge offer at the end of the season.
It follows transfer expert Ben Jacobs stressing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column: “Saka loves Arsenal and the team are flying right now.
"So the only thought at the moment is about staying at Arsenal and the talks are progressing.”
Dusan snub for Utd and Arsenal
Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic is again said to have “offered himself to Real Madrid” – after rumoured interest from Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea hopes.
The Serbia hero, 23, is reportedly unsettled in Italy.
And Juve’s 15-point fine for a transfer scam hardly helps.
It’s claimed Vlahovic would be keen on Real coming in with a last-ditch approach.
No neda to get excited now
Ivan Fresneda moving to Arsenal seems off the agenda now.
The Gunners were linked with a January move for the Spanish right-back, 18.
He even missed Valladolid’s 1-0 win over Valencia on Sunday.
Reports claimed Fresneda was not involved because of ongoing negotiations between Valladolid and the Gunners.
Spanish big boys Real Madrid were also interested in signing him this month.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti was said to have been impressed by Fresneda’s displays in LaLiga this season, so much so he wanted to bolster his options on the right side of defence by signing him.
Arsenal appear to have missed out on Fresneda, a setback after also seeing their approach for Moises Caicedo rebuffed.
Instead the Gunners have moved for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho who is set to arrive for £12m.
