The Gunners swooped to sign Jorginho on transfer deadline day, parting with £12million to bring him in.
Arsenal wanted to sign a midfielder to provide competition for Thomas Partey, with Mohamed Elneny likely to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The signing of Jorginho caught many by surprise as Arsenal were originally trying to sign Brighton’s Moises Caicedo. And Jorginho has revealed that Arteta was crucial in him moving across London to join the Premier League leaders.
“He was a big influence because I know that he tried a few times to get me before and it didn’t happen due to other reasons, not because of my wishes,” he said. “So of course, he had a big influence.
“I’m very excited for this new challenge, and I just can’t wait to be on the pitch to be honest! Everything has happened so fast. I was a bit surprised, but I took the opportunity of this amazing challenge.
“It’s an important shirt. It’s an amazing club, a big one, and I’m really excited and happy to be here.”
Jorginho has signed an 18-month deal at the Emirates Stadium, with an option to extend by a further year included in the contract.
After Arsenal’s failed pursuit of Moises Caicedo, the Premier League leaders quickly turned attention to other targets and the Chelsea stalwart became the most realistic signing with so little time left in the window.
The deal is thought to cost an initial £10m, with a further £2m available in add-ons.
Jorginho will wear the No20 shirt, previously occupied by Nuno Tavares, Shkodran Mustafi and Mathieu Flamini and is in line to make his debut against struggling Everton on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta has long been a fan of the former Napoli midfielder and tried to sign him in summer 2020, while the Gunners boss was on the coaching staff at Manchester City during their interest in the player before his move to Chelsea.
“I’ll try to just bring positive energy, hard work and my experience to help the team. It’s what I always bring with me,” Jorginho added.
“I try just to help with the experience I’ve had in my time with the other clubs and anything I can do just to help the team to achieve more and more, that’s my target. All I can promise is that I’m going to give my all to represent this club.”
