Arsenal: Lucas Torreira hasn’t even scratched the surface yet

Arsenal newbie Lucas Torreira won over any lingering doubters against Newcastle, but the Uruguayan hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface.

Arsenal have a special player in Lucas Torreira, and best of all, he is just giddy to be at this prestigious club. Just 22-years-old, he was seen as the marquee signing of the summer, only to be dropped to the bench for the first five matches in light of the young Matteo Guendouzi.

Although, through the first two matches at least, it was clear to see why. Torreira looked timid, like a shell of the World Cup self we saw, while Guendouzi looked fearless and rambunctious.

However, in the third match of the season, against West Ham, Lucas Torreira was put on and, while he wasn’t dynamite, he did seem to unlock the best in Granit Xhaka. From there, the script of the next two matches wrote themselves, as Torreira was put on, Xhaka flourished and, as of the past two matches, Torreira has looked impeccable.

The midfielder does so many things that fans have been dying for. He is positionally aware, he wins the ball back, he doesn’t shy away from challenges, he covers a ton of ground, he pushes play forward… the list goes on.

But the best part (yes, it gets better) is that the best of Lucas Torreira hasn’t even come yet. What we have seen thus far only scratches the surface.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

In case you haven’t noticed, fans were just beside themselves after his 45 minutes of splendor against Newcastle United. But it wasn’t even like he did anything particularly spectacular. He just did all the simple things right. he played forward, he played quickly, and he played with a dogged determination.

Imagine that for ninety minutes. Imagine what he brings to the table for a full match and what that, in turn does for Granit Xhaka.

Imagine what happens when this 22-year-old midfielder starts to experiment more with the attack, starts to utilize his ability to shoot from distance more, and as his ability to pass develops. We talk a lot about the bright future of Guendouzi as a 19-year-old, but I wonder if we don’t often forget that Torreira is half a decade from the point where we would really be expecting him to be at his prime.

Torreira is only going to get better from here. There will be hiccups, of course, but the trajectory is trending upwards, and that isn’t going to change.