Arsenal star would be ‘delighted’ to join Barcelona on free transfer

Jorginho has played an increasingly prominent role in Arsenal’s title charge (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal star Jorginho would be ‘delighted’ to join Barcelona on a free transfer from Arsenal this summer.

The Italy international joined the Gunners just over a year ago from Chelsea in a £12million move after Mikel Arteta had failed in his attempts to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton.

After a slow start to his Arsenal career, Jorginho has played an increasingly prominent role in recent weeks and was to the fore again last night as Arteta’s men extended their eye-catching winning run with a 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United.

Mikel Arteta has been effusive in his praise of the former Napoli star in recent weeks and the club plans to offer him a new deal.

A move to cash-strapped Barcelona, however, is understood to appeal to a player who will turn 33 later this year.

Sport report that Barcelona will again be hamstrung by a limited budget again come the close season and sporting director Deco believes Jorginho would represent an ideal short-term signing.

For now, at least, Jorginho’s immediate focus will centre on helping Arsenal haul in Premier League pacesetters Liverpool and Manchester City.

With the top two meeting this weekend, there is a chance Arsenal will regain leadership of the table with a win over Brentford on Saturday evening.

‘The performance of the squad (was great) and the mentality to start strong and carry on the momentum,’ Jorginho said, reflecting on last night’s crushing win.

‘It was really, really good to see a team playing forward and want to keep going.’

Asked what is different about the team this year compared to the one that just fell short last season, he added: ‘I think the maturity.

‘We are way more mature how we compete and how we manage the games. I think that’s it.’ ‘We are pleased that we are doing all this good stuff, but we need to carry on.

‘Because if we just think ‘oh yeah, nice, it’s done’… no, we just need to put your head down and keep pushing, being humble and keep going.

‘We need to not be just happy for what we are doing. Of course, we are happy but we want to keep being happy. So, to be like that we just need to keep pushing and working hard.”

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