Arsenal were in persuit of N’Golo Kante well before his title winning antics with Leicester City.
Arsene Wenger recently admitted his affection for Kante and his desire to bring him at Arsenal. Arsenal tried to acquire the services of Kante twice which was followed by his move to Chelsea in the summer of 2016.
“Have I looked to sign Kanté? Yes. When he was in France and when he was at Leicester,” Wenger said.
But the suffering on missing out on Kante could just about to turn into a blessing in Lucas Torreira.
Arsenal fans had their eye on the 22-year-old who had an absolutely brilliant World Cup with Uruguay. He could be an engine in midfield with undoubted passion and a lionhearted determination.
MUST READ: Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira | Player Profile
Lucas didn’t start for Uruguay against Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but soon found himself in the starting eleven against the likes of Russia, Portugal and France.
At Uruguay v France and striking similarities in role and even physical size between Lucas Torreira and N’golo Kante. He’ll do well to be as good but pretty clear that, post-Wenger, Arsenal prioritising a specialist in holding midfield
— Jeremy Wilson (@JWTelegraph) July 6, 2018
His antics against Portugal as well as France has got everyone talking.
Torreira literally had the better of Cristiano Ronaldo for majority of the fixture and did show signs of damage against France. He did keep the French looking for some space, leading from the center.
His performances and playing style have led many to compare him with N’Golo Kante. It looks like Arsenal are getting a player very similar to Kante and someone who could reach his heights in the future, maybe above him.
Arsenal have also extended their contract with Granit Xhaka, so they can feel pretty confident in defensive aspects of the midfield.
Time will tell ‘What Torreira makes of him’, but his performances at the World Cup shows promising signs.
