Arsenal player Mikel Arteta says is 'top' already has 'verbal agreement' with new club
Arsenal could be just a few months away from saying goodbye to one of their current first team stars.
Another Arsenal player may have found a new club ahead of the summer after Kieran Tierney penned a pre-contract deal to sign for Celtic when his contract at the Emirates Stadium expires at the end of this season. Mikel Arteta is going to have some interesting decisions to make this season, likely needing to strengthen in a number of areas.
There will be a handful of players who are no longer deemed good enough to remain at the club, as there were last summer, and tough decisions will need to be made if Arsenal are going to get closer to ending their wait for a Premier League title.
The Tierney decision had already been made, with the Scot well aware that he wasn’t going to get a new contract, even if he has been used a little of late, and the Celtic agreement felt inevitable. Meanwhile, veteran midfielder Jorginho is also out of contract this summer, and at 33 years of age, he doesn’t look likely to get a new one.
The Gunners do hold an option for another year, so they could keep the Brazil-born Italy international around as a squad player or add the year to ensure they get some sort of fee for his services. But given Jorginho has only made six Premier League starts all season, it’s likely Arsenal will allow him to leave for free if that’s what he desires.
A return to Brazil, where he was born, has been mooted for weeks, though there was talk of a possible offer from Qatar. Now, according to Bolavip Brasil via SportWitness, the midfielder has rejected that offer in favour of returning to Brazil, with ‘family pressure’ playing a key part in his likely homecoming.
RTI Esporte say there is now a ‘verbal agreement’ in place between Jorginho and Flamengo, and that there is a meeting scheduled with the club’s sporting director José Boto for March to go over the final details of the potential deal. As things stand, Jorginho is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club outside England, and that would only change if Arsenal inform the player that they are activating the one-year extension or if an alternative contract arrangement is agreed upon.
Arteta is a big fan of Jorginho’s, and he said of the midfielder back in December: "That is his quality. I always mention his biggest quality is his capacity to make others better. Last season was the same.
"At the start there was less games, we don't play that many midweek matches and he had less minutes. But I told him to be ready because there is going to be a time, and it is not going to be in one week you have to play, you are going to play now or tomorrow. The way he prepares is top so when he needs to play he is ready."