Arsenal: Lucas Torreira and the wonderful obsession with ‘balance’

Lucas Torreira provides the Arsenal midfield and whole team with ‘balance’. It is an obsession of Unai Emery’s, and it is absolutely wonderful.

Lucas Torreira arrived in north London with a reputation for embodying that South American fighting spirit. Gritty, grisly, snappy, Torreira is a fighter as much as he is a footballer. And inserting him into an Arsenal midfield known for its absence as much as its effectiveness has been a revelation.

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While Arsene Wenger bemoaned the two-time failure to sign N’Golo Kante, Sven Mislintat and co. were busy finding their own whippet-snapping midfielder. Torreira was the one they found.

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His influence on the team has been immediately noticeable. Anchoring the midfield, the timing of his tackles is as freeing as taking off that overbearing winter coat when stepping into a fire-warmed lounge, he brilliantly different and complementary to the players currently present in the Arsenal midfield.

That is certainly the obsession of Unai Emery. ‘Balance’ has been the keyword for this iteration of the Gunners, and it is once more when Torreira is the topic of conversation. This is midfield partner, Granit Xhaka, who performed so consummately alongside the Uruguayan in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool, on Torreira:

"“He [Torreira] is so important. He knows when to go and when to stay. He brings good balance between offence and defence.”"

That sentiment of ‘balance’ was echoed and emphasised by manager Emery, who praised the influence of both Xhaka and Torreira as true holding midfielders:

"“It’s very important for our balance that we have two midfielders like Xhaka and Torreira, because the balance in midfield is also important for the balance in defence and our balance offensively.”"

When Emery first arrived in north London, just a matter of weeks before Torreira himself was shipped into the Emirates, he was keen to extol the importance of balance, something that Arsene Wenger often tended to forget, especially in these big games against the big opponents. This obsession with balance is what has founded Arsenal’s recent run of form, now 14 games unbeaten in all competitions.

The basis for the improvements throughout the season has been the established foundation that comes from the double-pivot in midfield. In possession, the team is better than it has ever been against the high press, evident against Liverpool, a team renowned for their suffocating pressing scheme; out of possession, there is now a sitting screen that restricts and pressures the service into the opposing attackers, limiting the quality and quantity of chances conceded.

And this all comes from Emery’s obsession with having a balanced team, led by the introduction of Torreira. This is now a team that is effective at both ends of the pitch, not just one. The good results are merely just the rewards being reaped.