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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

Marc Cucurella's reaction to Chelsea losing Jorginho says everything about Arsenal signing

Things tend to move quickly on transfer deadline day, often so quickly that players themselves aren't aware what is going on.

Moves can gather place in a very short space of time, and given the amount of activity going on at Chelsea right now you can probably excuse left-back Marc Cucurella for not being quite up to speed with the ins and outs.

And when he took part in a special Q&A for Goal.com, he was forced to quickly change an answer.

Asked who the smartest player in the Chelsea squad was, he confidently answered "Jorginho, 100 per cent" before going on to explain why he had plumped for the experienced midfielder.

However, he was quickly stopped and informed that the Italian international was completing a move to Arsenal, with "photos of him" taken in his new shirt.

Cucurella looked momentarily stunned but initially wanted to retain his answer, only to understandably be told he couldn't given that Jorginho wouldn't be his teammate for much longer.

The humorous exchange sums up the type of player Arsenal are getting in Jorginho, with the experienced midfielder a valuable addition to a side that are going for the Premier League title.

The switch is said to have gone down well in the Gunners dressing room, with the squad in need of some experienced back-up to Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka following an injury to Mohamed Elneny and the uncertain form of Albert Sambi Lokonga.

Former Gunner Paul Merson has also backed the move.

"I think [it's] outstanding. You are buying experience as well. He’s won big trophies. He is a proper holding midfield player," he told Sky Sports.

“We were only talking about, two years ago when they won the Champions League and he won the Euros, we were saying ‘why don’t England produce one of these players?’. Two years on and Arsenal could be getting him.

Cucurella clearly respected Jorginho at Chelsea (Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

“I know he’s two years older, but he’s so intelligent. He’ll protect the back four and he just keeps it simple. He will be feeding Odegaard. He will be feeding Saka and Martinelli.

“For me, he is a top signing. He knows he won’t be playing every week. But he will bring experience and calmness. I call it a cup of tea.”

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