Arsenal: N’Golo Kante the aim for Lucas Torreira

Arsenal famously missed out on signing N’Golo Kante on two separate occasions in the past three years. But now they may have rectified the situation thanks to Lucas Torreira. For the Uruguayan, emulating Kante is the ultimate aim.

Is N’Golo Kante the best midfielder in the world? It’s a difficult question to answer. But the very fact that it is being asked is a dagger to Arsenal fans’ hearts. The French World Cup winner could have been theirs. But he isn’t.

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As Arsene Wenger has detailed on several occasions before, he had two separate chances to sign Kante, the first prior to his initial move to the Premier League to Leicester City and the second in 2016 prior to Chelsea sweeping in.

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The double-failure is one of Wenger’s most damning in recent years. Almost singlehandedly, Kante revolutionised the Chelsea team, leading them to a comfortable Premier League title, making him the second player to win successive Premier League titles with different teams after Mark Schwarzer who was a reserve goalkeeper in both of his campaigns and played a total of zero combined minutes. I dread to think what Kante could have done for Arsenal.

However, two years after that second failure, it seems as though the Gunners are keen to right their prior wrongs. The £26 million signing of a scrappy, small but athletic, quick, nuisance of a midfielder certainly suggests that they are trying to find their N’Golo Kante. Lucas Torreira may only be 22 years of age, having never played in the Champions League or Europa League, but there is a growing expectation on him to deliver.

It would be unfair to say that the expectation of Torreira is that he is as good as Kante from day one. Few players in the world are after mastering their midfield craft for all of their careers. Torreira is 22 and has only played in the defensive midfield position for three seasons after growing up as an attacking midfielder.

But it cannot be denied that Kante is the ultimate, best-case aim for Torreira. That is what Arsenal hope they are signing. And there is good reason for it. Two Premier League titles, an FA Cup victory and now a World Cup win, all of which have been largely shouldered by his legged-presence at the heart of the midfield, point to Kante’s inexorable influence.

This is not to say that Arsenal need to win the Premier League next season for Torreira to be deemed a successful season. That is completely ridiculous. But the impact that Kante has had at Leicester, Chelsea and France is what Ivan Gazidis and Unai Emery are aiming for. They may not be expecting it, but they are hoping for it. And thereby, so should Torreira. Kante’s career arc is what he should be working to achieve.

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He may or may not reach it. Only time will tell. But that is his ultimate aim. That is the best-case scenario. If he attains that level, then maybe we can catch a glimpse at what this team would have been with Kante at the heart of it.