Arsenal: I never thought Lucas Torreira would be a quitter

Arsenal have a problem with their mental state, and if Lucas Torreira is, in fact, a quitter, than best to be rid of him. We have enough of that already.

One thing that I found so amazing about Unai Emery’s first transfer window in charge of Arsenal last summer was his desire to find then right mindset. Sokratis, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira were all hungry, they played with a certain ferocity, and they’d have contrasted masterfully with the general malaise that often overcame this club when the going got tough.

Now, however, it might be looking like we were all wrong about one of those guys – Lucas Torreira. The ongoing transfer saga has steadily deteriorated to the point where it is now, with reports indicating that Torreira has gone so far as to tell the team he wants to leave.

Pardon me while I deal with the bile that just came up my throat.

Really? Granted, this first year couldn’t have been easy. Emotionally and physically, it was probably the toughest year he has ever had playing football. But I never took Lucas Torreira to be a quitter. I mean, this is a guy who tried to make a tackle with his head. That’s a warrior, right?

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Apparently not. I understand that England isn’t for everyone, but he didn’t even give it a fighting chance. One year in a transition stage and he’s ready to quit that easily after he showed so much positivity and so much room for improvement?

This is a guy that we thought was our N’Golo Kante – with upside! He could be an offensive force as well, if he dug into his abilities enough. And again, all signs pointed towards him being the kind of guy who would want to get the most out of his footballing career.

Yet here he is, supposedly ready to call it quits and flee back to Italy. And yes, I am happy with my word choice of “flee” because that’s what this feels like. Like he came, he dipped his toe, found it unpleasant, and didn’t even bother trying to swim, he just turned around and went home.

I never thought this would be the case. I wrote no more than a week ago about how this was all being blown out of proportion, but the longer he stays quiet on all of this, and the longer the rumors persist, then more we have to accept that maybe we had him wrong all along.