Arsenal: Lucas Torreira must fill the Santi Cazorla void in order to succeed

Lucas Torreira is practically a done deal and expected to arrive very soon from Sampdoria, making him the the first midfield buy of the summer. The Young Uruguayan will have a good chance of succeeding if he is able to fill the void left by Santi Cazorla’s exclusion from the team.

Lucas Torreira is on the verge of completing a move to Arsenal from Sampdoria for a fee close to €30 million. The young Uruguayan defensive midfielder is definitely a talented player and realistically in order for the Gunners to start succeeding again, Torreira needs to fill in the hole Santi Cazorla left after his departure.

Lets be honest here, what a revelation Santi Cazorla turned out to be in that midfield position. Whether it was accidental or just a pure stroke of genius from Arsene Wenger to put the wide man in that position remains a mystery, but one thing which is clear is that the Spaniard has probably been our best midfield player for years, and his partnership with Francis Coquelin was probably the most successful partnership an Arsenal midfield has had for a very long time.

Santi Cazorla had it all; goals, assists, free kicks, creativity, defending, ability to use both feet as well as the other, outstanding dribbling skills but more importantly a real game changer.

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Many would argue that Aaron Ramsey or Jack Wilshere were probably better than him, the simple answer is, not a chance. It’s no coincidence that every time the former Malaga man would be injured during the season, the results started to go downhill, in fact the statistics without Cazorla playing in the heart of that midfield don’t make for good reading.

Many Gunner faithfuls will confidently say that Cazorla was naturally one of the most talented players we have seen at the Emirates.

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While Torreira is a defensive player and has been likened to N’Golo Kante meaning he has the edge on the little Spaniard in defensive duties, he’s not shy of reaching Cazorla’s attacking abilities either.

Arsenal will gain another long shot taker in Torreira, adding to the ranks of Xhaka and Elneny (used to score long range goals at Basel FC), which indicates the young International has a decent shot on him. But it’s his dribbling which is actually quite impressive, being able to dribble his way out of tight situations due to his small stature, much like Cazorla.

Whilst he probably isn’t going to have the play-making abilities Cazorla did, he can be forgiven as that responsibility would be handed off to his midfield partners, most preferably Granit Xhaka. But who’s to say he wont excel in that ability either, the 22 year old is a player who will get stuck in and isn’t afraid to put his body on the line may find himself helping out in attack much more than expected.

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Lucas Torreira would be a very decent singing if completed and Arsenal Football Club gives him the opportunity to grow as a player, and if he is to succeed as a player, it would do him a world of good if he was to mirror Santi Cazorla’s attitude and attributes.