Rio Ferdinand has offered an olive branch to Jorginho after criticising the Arsenal star's running in the past.
Italian international Jorginho was still at Chelsea when he was targeted by Ferdinand in 2019. "He gets no assists, he's not a great defender, once a game gets like this against the big teams he gets overrun in midfield and he can't run," the former England defender said.
Jorginho appeared to take the comments to heart, reminding Ferdinand of his words upon being named UEFA men's player of the year. He won the award in 2021 after following up Chelsea's Champions League victory by claiming Euros glory with Italy.
The former Napoli star moved across London in January 2023, joining Arsenal from Chelsea, and agreed a new contract with the Gunners in May this year. He could be in line to feature against Ferdinand's former club Manchester United on Wednesday, and the pundit has been revisiting his position.
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Ferdinand interviewed Jorginho on his 'Rio Ferdinand Presents' podcast, and issued him with an apology. "I’d like to reiterate here with you to your face, is that nothing’s ever personal," he told Jorginho. "I look at things from a tactical perspective and what may be the problem and what could be the solution."
The Arsenal man responded graciously, saying: "Yeah because it can't be personal. We don't know each other, and I completely get it.
When asked about how comments like Ferdinand's own can be received in the dressing room, he added: "It always has an impact, especially with social media now, because they do take the things many times out of context and just cut that part. It does have an impact."
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Jorginho has been on the fringes of the Arsenal starting XI this season, but captained the team twice while regular skipper Martin Odegaard was out injured. He wore the armband for victories over Tottenham and Southampton, and returned to the starting line-up for the last two league games - victories over Nottingham Forest and West Ham.
His involvement against United on Wednesday may rest on whether Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino are available again after injury. The pair missed out at the London Stadium, while there are also questions over Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel after the pair left the field early on Saturday.
"We’re going to have a meeting this afternoon," manager Mikel Arteta told reporters on Tuesday. "We have done a training session, we have monitored and kept a few away from certain activities and after that meeting we will decide if everyone is fit and available and who will start."
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