Why Lucas Torreira is the perfect solution to Arsenal’s midfield woes

Arsenal may have lost the likes of Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla this summer but the Gunners have managed to complete a deal for Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria.

New manager Unai Emery must assemble a new-look Arsenal side and attempt to restore their former glory. To be fair, the Londoners already had a solid set of players at their disposal. After all, not many clubs can boast of an attacking unit consisting the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Add Lucas Torreira to that combination and one might just have a winning combination at hand. His Serie A performances were quite impressive and now that he has arrived at Emirates Stadium, it is safe to suggest that the midfielder has the ability to improve Arsenal’s gameplay on the whole.

A defensive midfielder by trade, Torreira is capable of acting as the foundation for a team – and that is something the Gunners have lacked for the longest time now.

Patrick Vieira’s departure back in 2006 certainly broke the hearts of numerous Arsenal fans. But since then, the club have also lacked the presence of a true-blue defensive midfielder.

Of course, they have had their shares of Mohamed Elnenys and Granit Xhakas but none of them was able to make a solid impact. That said, Torreira is in no way a like-for-like replacement for Vieira. But like the Frenchman, the 22-year-old is adept at disrupting opponents’ attacks to win the ball back.

Furthermore, Torreira’s ball retention skills are quite admirable as well. With all that in mind, it goes without saying that the young Uruguayan will be a crucial figure in Arsenal’s midfield.

The Gunners often crumbled whenever they faced pressure from their opponents in the midfield last season. However, with Torreira in the mix, the club should be able to avoid that. It remains to be seen exactly how he is deployed under Emery but given the situation, Torreira is arguably their best signing of the summer.

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At his former club Sampdoria, Torreira was part of one of the hardest-pressing teams in the Serie A. Emery is known for his pressing tactics as well and if the Uruguayan midfielder thrived for the Italian giants, he should face no trouble replicating his form for Arsenal as well.