The Italian media did not appear to be particularly impressed with Jorginho after the Arsenal midfielder helped Italy book their spot at Euro 2024 on Monday night.
The Azzurri have ensured that they will defend their title in Germany next summer. But they were given a good scare by Ukraine, with Mykhaylo Mudryk feeling that he had a case for a penalty late on.
Jorginho struggles to impress in Italy draw
Jorginho started in the middle of the park. There was a certain amount of pressure on the Arsenal midfielder heading into the vital qualifier. Jorginho has missed his last three penalties for Italy, including one in the win over North Macedonia in this international break.
Perhaps thankfully for the Gunners star, there was no missed penalty this time around. But it does appear that the Italian press were not complimentary about his display.
Both Calciomercato.It and Tuttomercatoweb gave Jorginho a 5.5 rating. Football Italia was a bit kinder, with a 6/10 score. They also suggested that he seemed to do little wrong.
“Gave his contribution to Italy’s build-up and was solid defensively,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, Calciomercato suggested that he had little impact on the game, and was not particularly brave on the ball.
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“He plays predominantly horizontally, determines little, misses a few too many suckers. Without infamy and without praise,” was their assessment.
Arsenal may benefit as Azzurri book Euro 2024 spot
Whoscored shows that Jorginho completed 61 passes during the stalemate. Only Giovanni Di Lorenzo managed to make more. However, only one of those balls from Jorginho represented a key pass.
The 31-year-old, in fairness, is not a player who does anything different for Arsenal. He thrives keeping things simple. And it appears that the players around him benefit from his calming influence. Jorginho will often be the player Mikel Arteta will turn to when the Gunners need to see a game out.
Jorginho has definitely been a decent signing for Arsenal. And the Gunners may now benefit from the fact that he will have his sights set on keeping his place in the Italy side for Euro 2024.