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Lucas Torreira

In a situation not entirely dissimilar to Sokratis’, Lucas Torreira has also seen his playing time and role decrease under Mikel Arteta.

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The defensive midfielder was initially reinstated into the starting XI in his rightful in front of the defence. Arteta used his defensive instincts to their maximum impact while asking for a simple but metronomic influence in possession. Torreira was excellent in his early performances under Arteta, but the Arsenal head coach wanted a playmaker with more progression and impetus in their distribution.

After starting the first six Premier League matches under Arteta, Torreira was dropped for the trip to Burnley in early February. Since then, he started just one match, an FA Cup tie against Portsmouth in which Arteta fielded an extremely weakened side.

There are clear stylistic issues between Arteta and Torreira, as there were between Torreira and Unai Emery before. Should Arsenal receive the right offer, Arteta might be convinced to offload the scrappy the Uruguayan in an attempt to reshape his central midfielder in a manner that is more conducive to the style he wants to implement.