Arsenal Vs Spurs: Why Lucas Torreira must play

Lucas Torreira is a terrier. A thief in the night. A difference-maker. To put it simply, Arsenal are a better team with him in the midfield. If they are to win the first North London Derby of the season, he must start.

Given his efforts for the large part of last season, I have always viewed Lucas Torreira as an essential cog in the Arsenal midfield machine. While this machine the club is trying to build will take time to refine and must be able to adapt to certain opponents, it is one I think will flourish with the right parts in place.

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Last Saturday, the cogs didn’t quite fit and turn as Unai Emery had hoped. But when Emery finally made a change, bringing on Torreira, it started to function more effectively.

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Coming off the bench against Liverpool, Torreira provided something the midfield was lacking — physicality. His rambunctious playing style countered Fabinho’s stranglehold of the midfield, allowing the team another means to transition from defence to attack. Furthermore, his willingness to shoot saw him score a consolation goal, a goal that some (including Gary Neville) would argue brought justice to the scoreline, and he ratted around the park, not allowing Liverpool time and space to dictate.

The tenacious midfielder provides a gritty, provocative attitude. In his short cameo, Torreira was also the only midfielder who was making (and completing) transition tackles that immediately allowed Arsenal to move the ball up the field.

Despite being only five-foot-six, the Uruguayan uses his low center of gravity and his physical nature to ghost in on tackles, constantly disrupting the opposition’s flow. While brief, his encouraging stint against the European Champions demonstrated that Torreira is as ready to start as anyone else.

Considering that Emery will likely play more expansive football at home against Tottenham, a team considerably weaker than Liverpool, playing Torreira is a must. Under Emery, the Gunners are a different beast at home. At the Emirates, they expect to win. They play more confidently and more expansively.

Indeed, this weekend’s North London Derby should see Emery play in a more dynamic, fluid, attacking manner. In order to do that, an enforcer in the midfield to win the ball back at both ends of the pitch is absolutely necessary. While Toerreira is no Patrick Viera, he is essential to the Gunners’ ability to dictate the game, an issue most fans had with Emery’s approach at Anfield.

Torreira embodied this in his last North London Derby at the Emirates last season, seeing him slide shirtless-ly into Arsenal fans’ hearts. His galvanizing character and effervescent play are crucial to both the character of the club and tactics of the team. It is time for him to start.