‘Jorginho fakes warm up to coach Arsenal teammates at PSG’
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho found a way to help his teammates despite not starting in the first half of his side’s Champions League semi final with PSG.
After missing out on the domestic trophies, success in Europe is now the Gunners’ last hope of lifting silverware this season.
Mikel Arteta‘s side have made it to the last four of the Champions League and took on the French champions in the second leg of their tie on Wednesday (7 May).
Arsenal found themselves facing a 1-0 deficit to PSG going into that game after Ousmane Dembele’s winner at the Emirates last week.
Jorginho back in the matchday squad after injury
As the Gunners took on Luis Enrique’s side in the French capital in that second leg, one boost they were given was the return to the matchday squad of Jorginho.
The midfielder had missed each of the last five games Arsenal have played due to injury, but was named on the bench for this clash with PSG.
While he was not playing in the first half, he did still attempt to contribute to his side’s efforts to fightback in the tie.
| Jorginho 2024/25 stats | Total (Transfermarkt) |
| Appearances | 26 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Yellow Cards | 5 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
As was noted by Daily Telegraph journalist Sam Dean, the veteran Arsenal man spent almost the entirety of the first half moving up and down the touchline making out that he was warming up.
In actuality though, it was suggested that Jorginho was in fact attempting to help coach his teammates through the match as they looked to get back into the tie.
But after Fabian Ruiz put PSG 2-0 up on aggregate with a half-volley after 26 minutes, the Gunners found themselves facing a big task to complete that turnaround and keep their trophy hopes alive.
Arsenal will miss their veteran midfielder
Football Insider Verdict
Football Insider understands that Jorginho will leave Arsenal this summer when his current contract at the Emirates Stadium expires.
At 33-years-old the midfielder is at the latter stages of his career and so it makes sense that they might move him on to help create space to strengthen the squad.
Even so, moments like this show that the Italy international is likely to be missed when he leaves the Gunners at the end of the season.
This clearly shows that even when he is not playing he is still keen to help the club however he can, something everyone connected with the club will appreciate.
Indeed, Jorginho appears to be a popular player with his Arsenal teammates, and so they will surely be sad to see him leave.
Even so, he can clearly hold his head up high when he looks back at the job he did during his time with the club, just as he can over his previous spell elsewhere in the Premier League with Chelsea.