Jorginho’s request to leave will undoubtedly come as a shock to Arteta, who recently praised the Italian maestro for his “phenomenal character”. “I think it’s something that has to be shared,” Arteta said.
“Jorginho is a phenomenal character, he’s got so much experience. Everybody respects and loves him in there and he’s a particular character as well and he’s been really, really, really good for us.
“He needs to maintain what he’s doing but also we have to promote leadership from other areas and there are very young players there as well and now they’ve been with us for a while and they have to start to look forward and take initiative and go another step further.”