As reported by Football.London, Lucas Torreira’s agent, Raffaele Bentancur, has revealed that his client is not happy with his current role at Arsenal. The Uruguayan international hasn’t been a first-team regular under Unai Emery. And though the agent did reinstate that he respects the coach’s choices, it won’t be surprising to see Torreira seeking a move away from the club.
Torreira’s struggles at Arsenal
There was a lot of hype around Torreira when he joined Arsenal last summer, in a €28 million move from Sampdoria. He was one of the star performers for Uruguay during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. And fans were confident that his addition to the club would solve Arsenal’s midfield problems.
Although Torreira did impress early on in the last campaign, he was mainly crippled by the lack of game-time. Emery would often use him as an impact player rather than a first-team regular. As a result, the Uruguayan mustered only 2,376 minutes of league football last season, with just 24 starts.
This season, Torreira’s role in the Arsenal setup has been further demoted following the emergence of Matteo Guendouzi, which is coupled with the arrival of Dani Ceballos. The midfielder, therefore, has only featured in nine matches, only four of which were starts.
Why Arsenal should get rid of Torreira
If Arsenal persists with Emery as their manager during the remainder of the campaign, it might not be a bad idea to offload Torreira in the upcoming January transfer window. The ex-Sampdoria star is clearly a misfit in the Spaniard’s system, which requires a lot of technicality and composure.
Torreira’s energy and enthusiasm, therefore, often becomes redundant. Moreover, he has struggled with the lack of identity even when he has been given a chance to perform. Emery utilised him in a deeper role in midfield earlier in the season, but it turned out to be a bad decision as Torreira lacked the composure to distribute play.
The ex-PSG boss also deployed the 23-year-old in a more advanced role, almost as a number ten. But, he provided very little support to the attack, with Ceballos instantly outshining him. It seems Emery will have to remove Guendouzi if he is to accomodate Torreira in his starting lineup, which is a foolish thing to do given how the Frenchman has impressed in this new season.
Therefore, Arsenal should definitely consider offloading Torreira, along with their captain Granit Xhaka when the transfer window reopens in January. It should provide them with the funds needed to reshape their entire midfield unit.
