Arsenal: More Lucas Torreira dimensions a lot to look forward to

Arsenal brought in Lucas Torreira, assumedly, to be their N’Golo Kante, but there is so much more to look forward to than that.

There was no escaping it, no preventing it. The moment Arsenal signed a shorter midfield enforcer with undying ferocity, the comparisons were going to be made to N’Golo Kante. You just can’t avoid comparisons like that.

But even back then, I set the ceiling a bit higher. Being a former striker, Torreira had a nose for goal, a nose that carried over to a thundering set-piece ability and the presumed ability to score from distance.

With two goals and two assists on the year, it’s safe to say that he didn’t exactly key in on that ability yet. But much like Matteo Guendouzi, we saw glimpses of the future of this young man (I always have to remind myself that Torreira is young too), and it didn’t just involve diving into tackles and trying heading a ball off the ground.

There’s more to Torreira than that, more dimensions, and I’m sure we are all buzzing to see these multiple dimensions develop more and more as his stay prolongs at the Emirates.

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There are two main things that you may start to see emerging, beyond just his defensive contributions. Which, by the way, can’t be understated. He led all non-defenders in tackles won, and third on the team overall.

But the first thing you can see he has on deck is the ability to make late, deadly runs into scoring positions. It’s very Aaron Ramsey-esque, though we have yet to see how much this will feature into his play. Giving him that freedom to roam allows him to exercise this ability and, the more he does it, the more of a feel he will get for it.

As for the other thing, being able to drive the ball forward from deep. It’s a very Santi Cazorla thing, having a smaller player able to weave his way from the danger zone around our own goal box, all the way to the much friendlier zones across the center of the pitch. Torreira has the affinity to make those kinds of driving runs with the ball, he just needs to work on his ball security a bit, and his composure in possession.

These are dimensions that can make him a truly special player, beyond the excitement that we already have for his defensive perks.