Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has waxed lyrical over Gunners team-mate Jorginho, whose performances have long split opinion among both fans and pundits – including Rio Ferdinand
Declan Rice has spoken glowingly of Arsenal team-mate Jorginho and insisted he is aiming to learn from the Italy international.
While it is widely acknowledged that Rice is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, Jorginho tends to divide opinion among fans and pundits alike. The 31-year-old has been plying his trade in the English top flight for some time now after four-and-a-half years at Chelsea before swapping West London to join the Gunners in January.
Despite winning the Champions League during his time as a Blue, many are not convinced by the Italian and weren’t throughout his time as a Chelsea player. Take Rio Ferdinand for one, in 2019, after Chelsea were defeated 2-0 by Arsenal of all clubs, the Manchester United legend issued a scathing assessment of Jorginho and called into question what he actually brings to a team.
“How many assists has he got this season? 2000 passes, no assists,” Ferdinand told BT Sport. “He’s not a great defender, once the game gets like this against big teams he gets overrun in midfield. He can’t run, so he doesn’t give you anything defensively and he doesn’t give you anything at the other end of the pitch.”