For years, according to the Gooner blogdom experts, we’ve been 2 or 3 players away from having a team capable of mounting a serious assault on the Premiership summit.
Arsenal goals Centurion he may have become, but Monsieur Giroud (gorgeous though he was) never looked capable of pushing the team that little bit further with 25 or 30 league goals in a season. Now we have Auba and Laca who both seem to have a much more natural, born-goalscorer’s disposition.
Again, perceived wisdom from the multitude of fan social media sites would have it that Arsenal have lacked a key player at the key defensive midfield position since first Gilberto, and then the Flamini of 2008, left the squad.
Step forward one Lucas Torreira, the man born in Fray Bentos, Uruguay. Could he be the man to put the beef back into that crucial zone just in front of Arsenal’s back four?
Courtesy AFC/Getty
Slight of stature in the mould of a Makelele or Kante, he is swift across the ground, strong in the tackle and appears to possess that uncanny knack of sensing where his team’s defence is vulnerable.
An apprenticeship at Pescara in Serie B, followed by two successful seasons at mid-table Sampdoria in Serie A, have seen his star rise enough for him to make his international debut this year and then look completely at home on the world stage at Russia 2018. His previous manager at Sampdoria rates him up there with the best – ‘second most effective DM in Europe’ after the loathsome Sergio Busquets.
At 22 and with his best years ahead of him, he’s decided to join the best Club in the world. There’s a real buzz about Arsenal’s pre-season; could our new Uruguayan signing be the final piece of the puzzle?
Some might be wary of building up hopes too high even before Unai Emery’s Arsenal has emerged from its chrysalis properly and they’re probably right, but who knows, fingers crossed, we could be in for a real treat this season.
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Is he a striker? No,
Who?
poor dog looks silly against the owner one Lionel Messi
micky, who else?
the urugwayan
Why would you want a striker at DM?
who said I want a DM? I couldn’t care less about DMs, bring Ollie back
I thought you always wore DMs
Oooo’ello, there you all are. Been busy typing away 🙂
Off to read, back . in a mo
Slight, swift and strong. Poetry in motion there Chas. Thank you.
I’ve only seen of him what I saw in the world cup and he looks like an exceedingly good signing, and most definately strengthens an historical weakness in our side.
Very excited by him, and of course, by stiffening the defensive side of our midfield, our good players can really focus on strutting their stuff.
The comments section off to a cracking start. Not surprised we spook readers from commenting 🙂
Lowest rung of the evolutionary ladder!!!!!!!!!
Send the Rambo piece in for tomoz, please.
you are still going there? hope you are not talking to the Folksdeutch woman
Chas 1.08
Love her Maj looking out from behind the curtains. Legacy of Queen Mum’s time, I presume.
chas – you chubby friend had to see a vet today. Everyone there was drooling over Bambi, but one woman looked at Chubby and said ‘what an unfriendly ugly little dog’ 🙂 he chose to completely blank her, good boy
Nice uplifting post.
I’m happy to see us get our own little Torero who will flash his red cape at the opposition players who dare to attempt passing him.
Stats tell us that defending has been our problem and Emery has gone a long way to fill that void but personally I feel that one major piece of the jigsaw is still missing – namely a top shelf goalkeeper.
I realize that he has signed Bernd Leno but he arrives with several question marks after his name. He has been receiving both coaching and advice from Seaman, Lehmann & Cech which will undoubtedly help him settle into the EPL.
Great work chas, I’m trying very hard to curb my enthusiasm … but I can’t 🙂 … I’m loving this fella, also ESR and Guendouzi …. I’m sure they won’t let me down.
If Torreira is the player we think he is … he is very much one of the most important missing pieces in the jigsaw. Quite how UE is going to fit Laca, Auba, Minkhi, Ozil, Xhaka, Ramsey, Torreira, M-N and Guendozi into his midfield/attack I really don’t know … but we should have a very strong bench that’s for sure.
fred 🙂
they look like a bunch of gays, don’t they? that mustafi worries me
Thanks Chas. I think looking back over the last few seasons there have been a couple of missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. Sadly I feel much of this was because Arsene’s vision and ideas had become a little flawed and outdated. Not wanting to have a go at the great man, his tenure was amazing, but his time had just come and gone before he actually stood down. I can now happily reflect on his period with us with respect, gratitude and joy.
The 2-3 players short had become a bit of a cliche of recent seasons Chas, but I think it was a genuine problem that stood up to scrutiny. It wasn’t just about bringing in 3 players it was about bringing in the right 3 players. It seems that we are now recruiting players we need rather than players we like the look or style of.
I also think the 2-3 players short was for key top quality 1st team positions but in reality you needed those plus a couple of others for squad gaps that needed plugging. Arsene never really liked more than 3 to arrive but we have now brought in 5.
In reality the areas that needed addressing started last season with the recruitment of Lacazette and, even more importantly, Aubameyeng. I thought Ollie was a decent player and a useful squad player, but I more really liked him in a more iconic status sense, but he wasn’t what we needed to progress and the right decisions were made. I think we also came out of the Miki / Sanchez deal stronger. Despite Sanchez’ maverick quality Miki looks more like he binds us more and blends in to the team better.
It also always looked like our tactics, formations and preparation were severely lacking. It now seems that this consideration is high on the agenda. Players seem to have instructions and direction all of a sudden, and the pressing and our shape without the ball seems to be being drilled into them, but crucially still while retaining an attacking identity.
The whole squad is starting to look very balanced but with quality throughout. I am very excited but, like Rasp, am not sure how he fits all the players in.
oh ffs that Torreira is shorter than me
how is he supposed to stop the likes of Pogba, Kane, Lukaku
Lol kante is short but still effective so hopefully he that good
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