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Former Arsenal midfielder Jorginho has revealed that Mikel Arteta\u2019s obsession with set-pieces felt like \u201chomework\u201d during his time at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n
The Brazil-born former Italy international left the Gunners at the end of the 2024\/25 campaign on a free transfer with the 34-year-old deciding to join Brazilian side Flamengo.<\/p>\n
Arsenal<\/strong> finished as runners-up three seasons in a row before Jorginho left and the Gunners are being widely tipped to finish second once again, despite their strong position in the Premier League.<\/p>\n Opening up on his time at the Emirates Stadium, Jorginho insisted that he left Arsenal as he \u201cneeded to go somewhere where I was going to play with joy\u201d.<\/p>\n Jorginho said in an interview with The Times<\/em>:\u00a0\u201cWhen a player is not on the pitch, it\u2019s hard to keep motivated.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt I needed to go somewhere where I was going to play with joy.\u201d<\/p>\n READ: <\/span>Arsenal \u2019embarrassingly boring\u2019 and Arteta destined for Rangers after sack as \u2018brainless\u2019 Rice slammed<\/strong><\/p>\n Arsenal have been criticised for their reliance on set-pieces this season with the Gunners\u2019 play often described as \u2018boring\u2019.<\/p>\n When asked about the Gunners\u2019 obsession with set-pieces, Jorginho added: \u201cIt does feel like homework, that\u2019s the reality.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when you do your homework and then you have the test, you have a good result.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people are realising now the importance of set pieces\u2026 Why is it a problem to focus and work more on it, when you get the results from that which make everybody happy?<\/p>\n \u201cBut the thing is, if you focus just on this, and then you forget about the football side, then of course, you\u2019re not going to have beautiful football.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think it\u2019s all about balance.\u201d<\/p>\n Arsenal are currently leading the Premier League by six points but second-placed Manchester City have a game in hand and face the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a potential title decider.<\/p>\n Jorginho continued: \u201cI hope they forget about the last few years, because if they think about it, then they could put pressure on themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they just should realise how strong they are and what a strong position they are in.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE ARSENAL COVERAGE ON F365\u2026<\/strong> But Man City boss Pep Guardiola doesn\u2019t find Arsenal boring at all, in fact, the Catalan insists he \u201cenjoys watching them\u201d and \u201clearnt a lot\u201d from watching their matches.<\/p>\n Guardiola told reporters on Friday: \u201cPeople are so demanding, (it is) so demanding from the media, from the supporters, from everyone. I enjoy watching them (Arsenal).<\/p>\n \u201cI learn a lot for many, many things and what people want is to win. They are so strong in all departments. Duels, physicality, if you allow them to make a good process by not being aggressive or compact they make a good build-up.<\/p>\n \u201c(David) Raya (the goalkeeper) is extraordinary, they are really good going for the second balls, they defend deep in transitions, they\u2019re one of the best in the high pressing. They\u2019re so aggressive in front of goal. It\u2019s not necessary to talk about set-pieces.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why they are who they are, top of the Premier League all season and in the semi-final of the Champions League. That\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to be there and still challenging them. We will see what happens (on Sunday) and how we perform. We have to do a perfect performance to win this type of game.<\/p>\n \u201cHe (Arteta) has already had many years there and every season he is getting better and better. When he took over the club they had problems and troubles. Last season of course Liverpool made an incredible three quarters of the season and were unstoppable but the previous one and this season, Arsenal have been the biggest contender.\u201d<\/p>\n READ: Arsenal have \u2018huge advantage\u2019 over Liverpool, Bayern Munich in \u00a375m race for Gordon<\/strong><\/p>\n Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit thinks Arteta\u2019s lack of trophies as a player could come back to cost him as Gunners manager.<\/p>\n Petit told Andy\u2019s Bet Club<\/em>: \u201cIf they don\u2019t win the title from here, Arsenal players will be traumatised forever.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really like the temperament of Mikel Arteta on the bench sometimes. His body language \u2013 I don\u2019t like it. It\u2019s the same thing I\u2019ve seen with Unai Emery at times. He looks nervous, very tense.<\/p>\n \u201cI can understand that because when you are close to being in a Champions League semi-final, it\u2019s so important. Two years in a row, you are leading the Premier League table.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I can understand the way you react. You are very passionate, you have this desire to win something, but the fact is that Arteta has never won something important.<\/p>\n \u201cI said it a couple of weeks ago, the most difficult trophy in your career is your first one. Look what happened to Paris Saint-Germain, look what happened with so many teams. The first trophy is the most important because when you open the door, you know you can open the door. And Arteta never opened the door as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n
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