Jorginho’s error cost Arsenal victory against Tottenham (Picture: Getty)
Mikel Arteta declared his ‘love’ for Jorginho after the Arsenal star committed a hugely costly error in Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham.
The Gunners appeared to have regained control of a typically chaotic meeting with their local rivals when Bukayo Saka converted a controversial penalty 10 minutes after the restart.
Having taken the lead for the second time in the contest, Arsenal immediately shot themselves in the foot less than 90 seconds later when Jorginho was caught dallying with the ball on the halfway line.
James Maddison deserved credit for sensing an opportunity and playing a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Son Heung-min, who produced a clinical finish to score his 150th goal in Spurs colour, but it was a hugely avoidable error from a player of Jorginho’s experience.
‘I love him, and we love him,’ said Arteta of the Italy international who replaced the injured Declan Rice at half time.
Son Heung-min’s 150th goal for Spurs earned a point in the north London derby against Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
‘We all love him. That is a part of football, and they are allowed to make errors because they play.
‘We don’t play and for us it’s really easy, but if there is someone who is there that will help the team and do the most, it’s him.
‘He’s got it, and for Jorgi, we’re all with him.’
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‘In big games, the boxes are so important and we have to put those chances away and we didn’t,’ said Arteta after watching his side drop two points at home for the second time this season.
‘We had some errors in both goals to concede, and then it becomes difficult to win but honestly the effort, the energy that the boys put in, the attitude it was phenomenal.
‘I think we today lacked certain composure on the ball to be more dominant, and to get set to get the structure we needed against a really good Spurs side.’
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