Arsenal: Lucas Torreira can be a late bloomer, that’s perfectly fine

Lucas Torreira was a quick Arsenal fan favorite, but it’s been tumultuous since then, and now we may be in a situation where we’re relying on him being a late bloomer.

Lucas Torreira was everything Arsenal fans dreamed of when he arrived last year. He was N’Golo Kante with better attacking prospects. He was tenacious and driven and downright mean at times. He he dried to make tackles with his head too.

But then things started to get a bit testy starting at the end of last year, with rumors that he was unsettled, didn’t like England, and wanted to leave. Excessive rain tends to do that to even the best of us.

Despite the numerous rumors tying him to an exit, particularly to AC Milan, Torreira remained with the club, but thus far into the new season, he’s only played 99 minutes and started one of the four matches.

It’s a hard situation for Torreira, because you have to imagine that with all those rumors, some had to be right. He probably was a bit unsettled.

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And to make things more difficult for him, Matteo Guendouzi has risen like a titan in the midfield and asserted that of the two midfielders from the summer class of 2018, maybe Torreira was the lesser of the two, despite being older.

Now, with Joe Willock on the up and Dani Ceballos in need of playing time, Torreira finds himself against stiffer opposition than ever before, and at risk of falling down the pecking order if he, too, can’t match the Willock/Guendouzi theme of stepping up.

But there’s something I always have to remind myself about Lucas Torreira—he’s young. It’s yet another problem with coming to the Emirates at the same time as Guendouzi. While Torreira is older, it’s only by a couple of years. There is so much time yet for Torreira to find himself in the Premier League and we have no reason to be worried.

And if, at the end of the day, that just isn’t in the cards, it’s not like his value will have been dented. He’s still young, still proven, and still has a bright future ahead of him no matter where that future plays out.

So while there is a little cause for concern, since he hasn’t had the biggest impact yet this year after a bothersome summer, as long as there’s time, there’s hope. And Torreira has a lot of both.