Lucas Torreira has managed to win the hearts of Arsenal supporters, especially after his outing with Uruguay at the World Cup. Torreira seems a game changer for Unai Emery as he may just shape up Post-Wenger era for Arsenal.
It kinda seems awkward not having Arsene Wenger trying to zip up his jacket on the sidelines. Being a 90’s kid, I grew up thinking Arsenal Football Club was actually named after Arsene Wenger. His contribution to modern football is just immeasurable, though the North London based club decided to part with Wenger after 22 successful years in not-so-successful final seasons.
But its time for new dawn at Arsenal, the ‘Unai Emery Era‘.
Arsenal are known for having a man at command right at the heart of the park. Yes, you all remember Patrick Vieira – someone who had the capability to take even the biggest matches by the throat.
Vieira, known for his aggressive and highly competitive style of play, was a box-to-box midfielder who established himself as ‘one of the most dominating’ in the Premier League.
Arsenal have tried with many different options in order to replace the big man – Vieira. From Gilberto Silva to Francis Coquelin, though no one came near to provide something what Patrick Vieira did.
Unai Emery comes in and buys Lucas Torreira, and suddenly everyone are talking about the ‘perfect’ signing Arsenal made in Lucas.
Personally I am pretty excited to watch him in Arsenal colors, mainly as he frees up Grantix Xhaka.
Granit Xhaka has been an enemy of regular criticisms coming in from the fans for his lack of defensive duties. Granit likes some freedom to go forward and play around opponents penalty area. But many a times, he forgets to track back or cannot track back quickly which just gets Arsenal’s defence directly under pressure. It has cost Arsenal multiple times during the last couple of seasons.
To hand Granit some comfort and balance, Wenger opted for a conventional 4-3-3 but it didn’t worked out as he was hoping for. Xhaka’s regular commitment going forward meant Arsenal’s problem having a deep midfielder continued.
Arsenal then unexpectedly shifted to 3-4-2-1, and it was about a turnaround which would make Xhaka an integral part of the squad. Xhaka was awarded with more duties, defensively as well as offensively. He was given the freedom to shift between offense and defence. We have seen some dominating performances from Granit Xhaka since then.
At Borussia Mönchengladbach, Xhaka often played alongside a defensive midfielder such as Christoph Kramer in Lucien Favre’s attacking 4-4-2 system and handed him a freedom to advance into the final third, playing around the opponent’s penalty box – playing those wide balls walking straight into their defence and sometimes combining with the strikers when the opportunity knocks the door.
Granit Xhaka can be everything but not a spine. Arsenal have lacked having a reliable backbone who could control the situation, be it claiming down the game or taking it by the collars. Lucas Torreira could be – that backbone, that reliable piece who could get you the ball in any situation.
Despite his small stature, last season he averaged 2.8 tackles per game, two interceptions and 1.3 fouls for Sampdoria. The World Cup proved a clear answer to his talents, he showed he is physical and active and is not afraid to put his body in any situation.
His attributes and tiny size has led comparisons with World Cup winner N’Golo Kante, maybe he can develop himself into a beast here. He is still young at twenty-two and got a long time ahead of him where he could just be ‘one of the best in the World’, this kid certainly got that potential.
Torreira will also add versatility in Arsenal’s midfield, it’s something Granit Xhaka was not able to capitalize on(as I mentioned earlier) – but Lucas just seems to understand the situations offensively as well as defensively and brings an absolute balance not only to his game but would also bring to balance to Arsenal’s nature of playing in whole.
Lucas Torreira has been tagged as the second strongest midfielder (behind Barcelona’s superstar Sergio Busquets) in Europe by his former coach his former coach Marcello Donatelli. Considering Arsenal’s lack of strength in Arsenal midfield – Torreira will be a perfect addition to bring in some stability into Arsenal’s defence.
“His technique, his determination and his tactical intelligence always impressed me,” his former coach Marcello Donatelli told Sky Sports.
“He has always been strong in understanding those defensive tactical aspects and he is very mature tactically in terms of how he reads the game.
“He can cope with the gaps that emerge in midfield with great intelligence and he covers very well. He is the one who corrects the spaces and cuts out the passes between the lines in the defensive phase.
“After Sergio Busquets, he is tactically the strongest midfielder in Europe.”
He is someone who could help Unai Emery try different tactical options. But How? –
Emery could deploy a narrow diamond midfield which would in turn help Ozil to play his preferred Number 10 role, now that he has his number. Torreira can serve as the base with Mesut Ozil the point. Which would give Arsenal supporters the dream ‘duo’ attack featuring Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leading the line. He has featured as the base in the diamond all summer with Uruguay, with Gaston Ramirez playing behind the two strikers.
He has also featured in front of defenders all season for Sampdoria and could easily fit in even in the diamond play or a genuine 4-3-3 attacking line-up, where as his ability to switch between attacks and defence can help Emery to slot him in that 4-2-3-1 line-up he played in preseason against Boreham Wood and Atletico Madrid.
Best of holding midfielders come when they got that capability to control the pace of the game, it’s a rare talent. Couple of touches and they got game lying right where they want. That is basically the reason Chelsea and Liverpool have spent those big bucks on Jorginho and Fabinho respectively. Lucas Torreira slots right in there, he is someone who’z got that tactical ability and presence to control the game as he likes. That is something Jack Wilshere is blessed with, but Torreira could just give this same quality to the team accompanied by many many more.
Another of the quality ideally spotted in Torreira is his passing…Torreira not only likes to move the ball around but also likes to involve team-mates in the play. Linking up with his team-mates – quality perfectly suited to play for Arsenal’s style of play. This would also enhance Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan especially when Arsenal have the possession and are calmly making their play in oppositions half.
Though, Lucas is not all about keeping the ball rolling on the ground. He also has an eye for those long range passes converting defence into attacks and with likes of Aleaxandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at his conveyance – that could pretty much turn nightmare for opponents.
MUST READ: Lucas Torreira | Player Profile
Lucas Torreira could just turn out to be that ‘missing piece‘ in Arsenal’s puzzle. The Uruguayan comes in with a reputation on his back and Unai Emery would be hoping to turn him into a superstar.
