Before a ball had been kicked at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, one of the main talking points from an Arsenal perspective regardless of the result was always going to be Jorginho's performance against Manchester City.
The 31-year-old, who completed a £12million move from Chelsea on transfer deadline day last month, was handed his first start for the Gunners in the huge Premier League clash, replacing Thomas Partey after it was confirmed the midfielder was ruled out with a muscular problem.
"It's what happens in football," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Amazon Prime ahead of kick-off when asked for an update on the Ghana international: "Players pick up injuries and unfortunately Thomas [Partey] felt something in his back muscle. He isn't available to play today."
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Fortunately for the north London outfit they were in a better position to cope with Partey's absence, in terms of personnel, following the January transfer window and therefore Jorginho came into the midfield three alongside captain Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka.
However, the result was not the desired one. Defensive errors contributed to goals for Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish either side of Bukayo Saka's penalty before Erling Haaland made the game safe with his 26th Premier League goal of the season to ensure the visitors now lead the table by virtue of a superior goal difference.
Of course, it's very easy to single out individuals especially after a defeat but it's worth pointing out that Jorginho was praised for a 'superb full debut' in football.london's player ratings as he was 'efficient and composed on the ball while also being defensively really solid'.
Meanwhile, judging by the response from some Arsenal supporters on social media, many also share the opinion that the Italian did fairly well when filling in for Partey - even if he's still to taste victory since swapping west London for north London - and a few would be happy for him to keep his place in the side for Saturday's trip to Aston Villa.
@arsenal_82 said: "Jorginho was neat and tidy last night. He keeps his place for me." @now_arsenaI said: "I was worried before the game when Thomas Partey wasn’t in the squad & we didn’t win, but Jorginho was definitely one of our better players last night."
@Clinical_Hleb said: "Jorginho was outstanding and we've found another player alongside Trossard who can help. Partey will still be a big miss but Jorginho is a great understudy and @StarBoiSaka said: "Partey is a big blow to miss but for me, Jorginho stepped up."
It remains to be seen if Jorginho will make a second straight start as Arteta revealed after the game that the medical staff will assess Partey's situation before making a decision: "We don’t know. It’s what happens, it’s part of football," the Spaniard added. "I think Jorgi played a good game and we have to assess Tommy to see how bad it is."
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