Arsenal: When do we accept Lucas Torreira mistake?

Arsenal livewire Lucas Torreira is a defensive midfielder. But Unai Emery never seemed to think so, and now Freddie Ljungberg might believe the same. So when do we accept the mistake?

If you were to ask most sane people what Lucas Torreira’s best position is, they would reply, without hesitation and doubt, that it is defensive midfield. The energetic Arsenal midfielder has excellent defensive instincts, possesses that necessary quickness and athleticism to cover ground, and is limited in other areas to play higher up the pitch.

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Among the fanbase, there is very little debate about this. It is quite clear. And amongst pundits and analysts, while there is perhaps a little more tentativeness to heavily criticise Unai Emery, there seems to be a general acceptance that Torreira is being misused.

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Torreira himself grew frustrated with Emery’s obdurate, blinkered use of him as a box-to-box midfielder. Emery explained his decision by arguing that Uruguayan’s energy is best used in a manner that helps instigate a high press. He also stated that Torreira’s limitations in possession make it difficult for the team to build attacks when he plays at the base of the midfield. Both of those things may be true, but the evidence pointed to something completely on the contrary: Torreira was at his most effective when sitting deep.

But on Sunday, in Arsenal’s first game following Emery’s firing, not only did Freddie Ljungberg not use Torreira in the deep-lying role that everyone has been pining; he dropped Torreira from the starting XI and reinstated the much-criticised Granit Xhaka, who disgraced the club by telling supporters to ‘f*ck off’, made his last league appearance over a month ago, and has shown his incompetence in the anchor role throughout his time in north London.

In fact, when Ljungberg did introduce Torreira in the second half, Xhaka remained on the pitch in that same role that he played all much and Torreira continued in the position that Emery had used him, on the right side of a central midfield three with the license to press high up the pitch and even drive into the penalty area at times.

Obviously, one game after just 48 hours of preparation is not a sufficient sample size to conclude what Ljungberg genuinely thinks about Torreira and his best position, but it was telling that Torreira was used in the same manner as under Emery and Ljungberg wasted no time in inserting Xhaka back into the team.

Now, I disagree with both of these decisions. I struggle to see how anyone could believe that Xhaka is a superior defensive midfielder to Torreira. But at some point, a concession must be made: the coaches that manage the first team, individuals who are far more intelligent than any supporter and are working with the players every day, agree on the opposite.

For now, the evidence still very much points towards being Torreira being mismanaged and Xhaka being fortunate to have a place in the team. But at some point, the question must be asked: have we all made a mistake?