Arsenal Midfielder Set to Leave Club at End of Season, per Report | OneFootball

On the verge of one of the most important summers in Arsenal's history, it seems the club is already planning on overhauling its midfield options.

Jorginho will depart Arsenal in June on a free transfer for Flamengo, as reported by Vene Casegrande and Fabrizio Romano. The Italian midfielder first joined the club back in Jan. 2022 from Chelsea. Jorginho, a UEFA Euros and Champions League winner, has mostly been used as a rotational/depth option for Mikel Arteta. Though, he did have a strong run of form for the Gunners last season.

Arsenal Midfielder Set to Leave Club at End of Season, per Report

Jorginho sat as the deepest lying midfielder allowing Declan Rice to become comfortable at the left-sided 8 position. Arsenal played some of their best soccer during that span pushing Manchester City to the final day of the season in the Premier League title race.

Fans have often criticized the club for bringing in former Chelsea players like Willian and David Luiz in recent memory, but Jorginho was a solid player for the club. He was a veteran presence in the dressing room as well helping mentor younger players.

Following links with the likes of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, Arsenal look to revitalize and improve the defensive midfield option. Rice is playing his best on the left side of the midfield three, so Arteta likely wants to keep him away from playing deeper. The club has also been linked with renewing Thomas Partey's contract which would give Arteta two options there. As a fallback pending injuries, Rice can always drop deeper. Mikel Merino will likely return to midfield duties with attacking players returning to fitness, but question marks remain surrounding Martin Odegaard's drop in form this season.

Arsenal take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday trailing by one goal on aggregate. If Arsenal lose, their season is more or less over with just Champions League requalification.