"Let him go, he's finished in this team", "So so washed" - Fans slam Arsenal star after 2-2 draw against PSV in 2nd leg of UCL clash
Arsenal fans online were unhappy with Jorginho's performance during the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie with PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates. The midfielder struggled to cope with the pace of the game at crucial moments, and the Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw.
Despite holding a healthy lead after thumping the Dutch side 7-1 in the first leg, Mikel Arteta’s men didn’t give room for complacency as they started the game strongly. And they were already ahead just six minutes into the match, courtesy of Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Ukrainian international received a pass from Raheem Sterling, drove forward, and curled a beautiful effort into the far corner.
However, PSV didn’t come for another humiliating defeat as they restored parity in the 18th minute. An advancing Guus Til received a pass, and he picked out Ivan Perisic, who emphatically found the top corner.
Arsenal restored their lead in the 37th minute with Sterling being the provider once again. The English winger marauded the right wing, and Declan Rice headed his subsequent cross home, ensuring his side was ahead before the break.
A less entertaining second half saw PSV Eindhoven come back to level terms in the 70th minute. The Gunners were made to pay after Jorginho was dispossessed in midfield. Then Isaac Babadi got the loose ball and gave Couhaib Driouech a pass on goal, and the latter clipped a brilliant lob over David Raya and into the empty net.
Neither could score again until the final whistle, which meant the Gunners progressed to the quarterfinals on a 9-3 aggregate. Despite the comfortable progression, a section of Arsenal fans weren’t impressed with Jorginho’s performance. The former Chelsea man was the culprit for PSV’s second goal and received a rating of 6.0 as per Sofascore.
Here is how fans reacted below:
''Yea let Jorginho go he’s finished in this team'' An X user wrote
Another tweeted:
''Jorginho is so so Washed''
''Yeah I’m glad Jorginho is leaving, tired of people giving him credit for Rice’s performances'' @SaveTheWrek wrote
''Jorginho lol, I don't think I've ever seen a more defensively inept midfielder... utterly useless.'' @StatyBlogger added
''Jorginho absolutely stinking out the place. Normally much calmer'' @Gooner4LifeMin chimed in
''Remove jorginho Jesus. This man is making us play rubbish'' @wtfisonyema wrote
''Because we want to win'' – Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta on why it is important to reach the Champions League quarterfinals again
Arsenal made it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the second time since they returned to Europe’s premier club competition in the 2023-24 season. They got to the last eight in the last edition after beating Porto in the last 16 but were dumped out by Bayern Munich.
After the match, Mikel Arteta was happy that they made it to the quarterfinals and hopes that they can make huge strides towards reaching the final showpiece of the competition.
On how important it is to get to the quarterfinals again, Arteta said (via Football.London):
''Why is it important? Because we want to win. And to win, you're going to have to go through the stages. And because the club needs it. We are a club, a team that wants to be the best and wants to be competing with the best clubs in the world. And in order to do that, you have to constantly be there. And it's very difficult. But we've done it for two years in a row. And we have the capacity and the ability to do it even better.’’
Arsenal will take on Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the competition.
