Arsenal: In defence of Unai Emery’s Lucas Torreira usage

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery continues to use Lucas Torreira in a box-to-box central midfield role. It seems like the wrong move, but there is a reasonable defence.

If fans were asked what the primary issues with Arsenal’s season to date have been, Unai Emery might well be the name at the top of everyone’s list. Specifically, it is his use of particularly players that has frustrated onlookers, from placing his faith in the wrong players to using others in the wrong positions.

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One particular player whose usage has been curious, to say the least, is Lucas Torreira. The midfielder was a key cog in the Arsenal team last season and enjoyed a terrific first campaign in the Premier League, anchoring the midfield and showing terrier-like instincts, all at the tender age of just 22. There was great hope that this was just the start.

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However, this season, Emery has altered the way he has used Torreira. Rather than having the Uruguayan sitting in front of the back four, moving from side to side to sweep up loose balls and shield the backline, Torreira has been pushed into a more advanced, box-to-box role, one in which he presses opponents, receives the ball higher up the pitch, and is asked to set the tempo of the team’s play in more attacking areas of the pitch.

Allied with the cumbersome presence of Granit Xhaka as the deepest midfielder, the Swiss international lacking the necessary mobility to cover the ground to protect the defence, Emery’s use of Torreira has caught the ire of large swathes of the fan base. And given the imbalanced performances of the central midfield in most games this season, for good reason. In most people’s eyes, Emery is misusing Torreira, and they might well have a point.

I also think that Torreira is a more natural defensive midfielder, someone who is far more comfortable and impactful as a shield in front of the back four, tasked with breaking up play and moving possession on quickly, efficiently and simply. But it must also be recognised that Emery’s plans have not had the desired to time to play out.

Torreira has only featured as a full-time box-to-box midfielder this season — he did play a few matches in a higher position last season, but they were at a minimum. To expect him to adapt to this role, and for those around him to equally acclimatise to the change in system and style, in such a short period is a little foolish. He is undertaking major changes to his game. They will not be mastered in a matter of weeks.

And while I disagree with the overarching process and the early results are not the most positive, there is some logic to Emery’s thinking. Torreira is a very busy, industrious player. He knows how to press high up the pitch and can recover possession in dangerous areas, thus used in a chance creation manner as much as a defensive one, which is what Emery has repeatedly expressed is his idea.

Is Emery using Torreira in the wrong way? Yes, I think he probably is. But at this early stage, I cannot say for sure. No one can. And for that reason, I am at least interested to see what may come of this tactical wrinkle.