Raheem Sterling could make his Arsenal debut against Tottenham this weekend (Picture: Getty)
Jorginho is excited to be linking up with Raheem Sterling again at Arsenal, backing the forward to ‘add a lot to the team’ with his ‘qualities’ and winning mentality.
Sterling completed a season-long loan move to Arsenal on transfer deadline day after being told he was not a part of Enzo Maresca’s plans for the season ahead at Chelsea.
The 29-year-old England international has fallen some way short of expectations across two stop-start seasons at Stamford Bridge and will no doubt be relishing the opportunity to start afresh in north London.
Mikel Arteta could be tempted to throw Sterling in at the deep end as Arsenal prepare to do battle with bitter rivals Spurs, eager to get back on track following a disappointing draw at home to Brighton.
Declan Rice is missing through suspension and Arsenal could also be without club captain Martin Odegaard at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which could see Kai Havertz drop back into midfield.
This would free up a space in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI in attack and Jorginho is confident Sterling – a player he briefly played with at Chelsea – would come in and prove himself if called upon.
On Arsenal’s loan deal for Sterling, Jorginho told the Seaman Says podcast: ‘You know the club, especially Mikel and Edu, you know who they are bringing is just right so something good is going to happen for sure.
Jorginho and Sterling previously shared a dressing room at Chelsea (Picture: Getty)
‘When you see there is a player that you know, you played together and you know the qualities already, you know how they can help more.
‘You feel like, “Okay, I know how to give him the ball already”, so you are already ahead.
‘You don’t need to get to know him. It’s different.’
Jorginho is confident Arsenal’s deal for Sterling will prove to be a shrewd piece of business (Picture: Getty)
Asked whether he spoke with Sterling before the deal, Jorginho replied: ‘No.
‘I’m honestly not there looking at the news and stuff like that because it’s mad. There is even too much information and sometimes it’s not even true!
‘It was the day of the [Brighton] game so I woke up and I was like, “What?!”, and then we found out that he was coming.’
Sterling joined Arsenal on loan on transfer deadline day (Picture: Getty)
Despite Sterling’s underwhelming Chelsea spell, Jorginho is confident the winger can bring a new dimension to the Arsenal side.
‘He’s going to be great for us with his qualities, he’s won a lot already and he can add a lot to the team,’ the Italy midfielder added.
‘I think it was a good signing and as I said, I think he’s going to add a lot to the team, honestly.’
Jorginho hopes the ‘passion’ and ‘intensity’ that comes with the north London derby helps drive Arsenal to victory over their arch-rivals on Sunday.
‘It’s a special game for both sides and it’s probably going to be a really good game,’ he continued.
‘The rivalry is a good thing because it’s part of the game. Until you don’t cross the limit, it’s so good and that’s what makes this sport special: the emotion, the passion from both sides which make the game really intense and the atmosphere in the stadium.
‘We dream of these kind of games when we are kids so when it gets to these kind of moments we just want to play those games and win.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.