Arsenal: Lucas Torreira’s number choice the most exciting news yet

Arsenal newbie Lucas Torreira has explained why he wanted No. 11 – to sit next to Mesut Ozil. Is his head in the right place or what?

Arsenal have made very conclusive work over the summer, and their preseason has been reflective of their business, even if it was a bit splotchy at times. All of this simply points to an exciting season ahead.

And this is without Lucas Torreira even having touched the pitch yet. Given how far Uruguay went into the World Cup, Torreira has only just joined up with his teammates for training and he has only just explained why he wanted Ozil’s old No. 11 shirt.

It’s because he wanted to sit next to Ozil in the locker room.

This has me absolutely tickled. There have been a lot of reasons to get excited about Torreira. The fact that he is literally the embodiment of everything we need in a midfielder is one such reason.

The fact that he flattened Ronaldo in the World Cup is another.

The fact that he did so damn well in the World Cup as a whole, earning his way into the starting XI and cementing himself as a must-start, is another.

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He is only 22, which means that his future is wide open, and it is tied to the Emirates, where we will treasure the hell out of the guy.

And yet I find his choice of locker room companion to be the most exciting thing, for one big reason – the one thing that Torreira doesn’t yet have in abundance is the only thing Mesut Ozil has more than anyone else.

Creativity.

I like to believe that Torreira isn’t taking the seat next to Ozil isn’t just some fanboy choice. Torreira doesn’t seem like that kind of person, that wants to sit with the cool kids, or however you want to spin it.

I like to think he’s taking that seat so that he can glean a little creativity from the master. Which, assuming this is correct, would mean that Torreira understands his own limitations, is wanting to improve, and should absolutely be able to, if he can hang around Ozil enough.

Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I can’t see any other reason why Torreira would be so adamant that he sit next to Ozil and not someone else. They don’t share anything other than an inverse skill set.

Let the bromance begin, and let it be a fruitful one, as they so often are.