I had to leave Arsenal to find joy again – Mikel Arteta made it feel like homework

· FootballLondon

Arsenal return to the Champions League this week to take on Serie A outfit Napoli, with whom they share a former player who felt compelled to leave north London

Jorginho insisted he had to leave Arsenal to "play with joy" again, stating that Mikel Arteta's tactics made football "feel like homework."

Two of the Italian's former sides will face each other in the Champions League this week. The Gunners travel to take on Napoli on Wednesday in the first European fixture of the season.

Jorginho spent four years with the Serie A outfit and two Premier League campaigns in north London before leaving as a free agent to move to Brazil. While he enjoyed his time working under Arteta, the midfielder told The Times in April that he felt pressure to leave to enjoy the sport again.

He said: "I want to feel alive and important for the team. When a player is not on the pitch, it’s hard to keep motivated. I felt I needed to go somewhere where I was going to play with joy."

Highlighting Arteta's strict tactical play, Jorginho explained: "It does feel like homework, that’s the reality. But when you do your homework and then you have the test, you have a good result.

"I think people are realising now the importance of set pieces… Why is it a problem to focus and work more on it, when you get the results from that which make everybody happy?"

The Italy international did enjoy his time in north London but believes more "balance" is needed so players can enjoy the game while also concentrating on tactics.

Jorginho added: "But the thing is, if you focus just on this, and then you forget about the football side, then of course, you’re not going to have beautiful football.

"So I think it’s all about balance. Maybe, because when you focus so much on results and you hyperfocus on one thing, which is set pieces now, then maybe the other part, the football, is a bit forgotten, let’s say. But football is always in evolution."

Nowadays, the 34-year-old represents Brasileiro Serie A side Flamengo and has won several trophies with his new club. This includes the league title, Copa Libertadores and the Challenger Cup.

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