Arsenal Lucas Torreira would complete sublime midfield trio

One of Arsenal’s most painstaking absence’s in the past couple seasons has almost been resolved with the “imminent” arrival of Lucas Torreira.

Arsenal have come into this transfer window with a new resolve not seen in the last few due to the efforts of Emery and Co, who have expanded this club’s transfer and scouting networks adds a layer of depth and thought to the squad in the long run.

This diversification is not only reflected in the positions and leagues, but in age as well. The arrival of Stephan Lichtsteiner saw a surprising way for the Gunners to steady the ship and in general bring some tried and tested consistency into the team and the recent links of Yacine Adli and Joel Lopez, in addition to “playing the probability game”  gives credence to their new appointments in staff and management in their foresight.

According to recent media links, the next addition seems to be promising midfielder Lucas Torreira for a fee of £22m, to slot in a highly probable three-man midfield alongside Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka next season.

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It’s definitely no secret that Arsenal have been looking for a defensive midfielder for a while now, and Torreira fits the bill as much as you would expect for a promising 22 year old at a bargain price.

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The midfielder registered some well rounded defensive stats in the past season. In 32 games (according to WhoScored.com), Torreira averaged 2.8 tackles and and 2 interceptions per 90, as well as 0.9 clearances and 0.5 blocks. Offensively, Torreira has contributed to 4 goals and 1 assists and a not so negligible 50% shot accuracy and 87% pass accuracy. This also helps to break down the stigma of injury-prone midfielder (think Francis Coquelin) that Arsenal have often been associated with. Thankfully, he has played most of his games in the past 2 seasons at a consistent level.

All of this helps to cement the image of a well-rounded, tough tackling defensive midfielder, a Kante-esque workhorse. Save aerial duels, Torreira could be the Gunner’s main stalwart over Granit Xhaka, who averaged only 2.1 tackles and 1 interceptions per 90 in 2017/18 and who so often has been criticized for his lack of agility and earlier, his lack of discipline.

The introduction of Torreira could represent a major overhaul of Arsenal’s midfield and could help improve Xhaka in more ways then one. This means that Xhaka would revert back to a deep-lying play-maker with defensive responsibility instead of a full DM, and Aaron Ramsey would also have less defensive responsibilities in the middle of the pitch.

Next: 3 Things Lucas Torreira Brings

Personally, I think he will be a great addition to the club and add a dynamic that Arsenal have not seen in a while.