Arsenal: In the end, Lucas Torreira still has to turn a profit

Arsenal are reportedly receiving interest for Lucas Torreira, but the price tag is less than desirable. There is no reason not to get a profit off of him.

Lucas Torreira was, for many Arsenal fans, the culmination of a decade without a defensive midfielder. Early comparisons to N’Golo Kante set him up against it, but Torreira had the upside of being someone with an attacking background. Which is just another angle that he might have thrived in.

He hasn’t thrived. I don’t know how else to put it. And part of that likely comes down to not settling in London.

It became a problem over the summer, when AC Milan were sniffing around, trying to get him back to Italy, where he had spend a couple years at Sampdoria. The London life just wasn’t jiving with him, but he vowed to fight it out.

There hasn’t been much fighting this year. While Torreira continues to show glimpses of being special; glimpses of what made him so exciting as a signing, he hasn’t been able to capitalize.

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Not only that, but he spends an inordinate amount of time on the ground, as he doesn’t quite have the physical strength part of the game down. He’s dogged. No one doubts that. But he’s more of a rambunctious bull terrier, then a ferocious German shepherd.

Now, offers are swooping through the rumor mill again, and the latest is a £21m interest from Napoli. Which should be promptly rejected based on price tag alone.

Just because Torreira hasn’t jived doesn’t mean we should take a financial hit for signing him. he is still an immensely talented young midfielder with the world to give, he just probably isn’t going to give it in the Premier League. He’s definitely a gritty player, but I can’t help but feel like he hasn’t truly arrived yet. And nearly two years into his time here, we’d need to see that he has.

It’s not helped by Unai Emery’s insistence that Torreira play in a forward midfield role. That’s no doubting that. But taking a hit for the fee that we paid (about £25m) just doesn’t make sense because it’s not necessary. He’s still a useful player that we can spare a place for, it would just make more sense for all parties if we parted for a profit.

Anything else, and it will be a failure. And there is no conceivable reason why signing Lucas Torreira should result in failure.