Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has hailed Lucas Torreira as one of the signings of the season, and says that he’s a significant upgrade to the Arsenal midfield.
The Uruguayan has fast become a fan favourite due to the quality of his performances, and in recent weeks he’s shown there’s more to his game than simply adding defensive bite and making tackles.
He scored an acrobatic winner against Huddersfield on Sunday, which followed his game-sealing strike against Sp*rs in the the North London derby the previous weekend.
Speaking on Sky’s Monday Night Football show, Neville said, “He’s a massive upgrade on where they’ve been but most of all the impact he’s having on Arsenal’s mentality is huge.
“I think someone like him leaves his team-mates with nowhere to go. We’ve talked about Arsenal’s approach to games over the last two or three years and there was never that feeling that you felt as though it mattered at times.
“At times in big matches they always disappointed and you felt there wasn’t a leader out on the pitch for the players to look towards.
“If you look at him in that derby last week against Tottenham getting forward into the box he’s almost like this bundle of energy that everyone else in the team responds too, and this team needed that.”
The former Valencia coach also urged Arsenal to back one of his predecessors in that job, Unai Emery, in the transfer market, because as impressed as he’s been with the work he’s doing, he feels as if the Spaniard is pushing this squad to its limits.
“He’s almost having to over-manage them at the moment,” he said. “He’s having to do that in every game at the moment and you wonder how long he can keep on doing that before it starts to break and creak because it almost feels like he is managing them to the absolute maximum in every single minute of every single match.”
“He does need to be supported in the transfer window to get that squad exactly where he needs it to be then he won’t have to make as many changes.”
We are so screwed if he gets injured.
Positive thoughts
Who Emery? Yes I agree.
“Kroenke backs Arsenal manager in transfer market”
And in other news
“Flying pig seen over the Emirates + Hell freezes over”
Can we send Ozil to Man U and get Pogba ? We won’t have to pays more on wages just 50 millions in transfer fees to cover for the difference.
You guys think it is going to be another two-way transfer like Sanchez for Mikhi both not performing to expectation? I think Pogba under Emery will be a great success. Pogba is a very special talent. He only needs a respectfully demanding coach.
I’d rather keep Ozil
…and 5pur2 win the title.
Blasphemy
Too true, most of couldn’t understand why we haven’t always tried for a Gilberto/Petit/DM protecting the defence and freeing up the attack.
We have finally got a great one, hope he copes with the physicality of the PL for the whole season, and many seasons to come.
Torreira is a tough guy, you can see in his physique that he was built to fight. He’s like a billion dollar weapon built for football.
Neville is quite good as pundits go. Most of the time has something adequate to say and its not just because he contrasts with Carragher.
Think he is spot on here.
Gotta love how “adequate” is the bar for people paid millions of pounds to sit in a studio and talk about football.
He’s right but you’d have to be pretty stupid to miss Torreiras influence
Torreira has already become one of my favorite players and the first name on the team sheet for me, we’re so much better a team when he’s playing. I think the change in mentality is a credit to Emery though, his energy on the touch line is there for all to see
Usually I´d say Neville is a bag of shit but I share is feeling that this squad needs upgrades and are at the moment overperforming a little.
Just like a broken clock shows the right time twice a day, Neville sometimes makes sense…maybe once a year…and this was it…
He makes sense most of the time. Probably best pundit on TV.
think we are going in the right direction. emery is analyzing the potential of the squad and is pushing the squad its limits just like neville said. credit to the manager and the mentality of the squad that we are playing well right now. but you can only take this team so far with the squad we have. so come next summer i am pretty sure we will have new additions. there is a nagging feeling that if there was more quality in the centre back position and attacking midfield position we will play alot better. we might also need… Read more »
Emery has been an inspired choice by Gazidis.
Had we sacked Wenger earlier, I don’t think we would have got him so everything happened when it happened for a reason.
Gary Neville has surprised me. I hated him as a moaning player but I am surprised how good a pundit he is. He is usually unbiased and this is not the first time he has been positive about Arsenal.
Rio is not too bad either.
i hated Gary Neville as a player but as a pundit i think he speaks a lot of sense. check out the “quickly kevin will he score podcast” his 2 episodes are really interesting.
Also LT is a beast.
One of the better pundits.
He also put his money where his mouth was, was chastened by his experience at Valencia and understood management was not as easy as simply theory.
Players are not widgets and there is a lot more going on than just ‘tactics’.
Another decent pundit I would like to see more of is Rossenoir (surprisingly)
All those numpties Owen, Merson, Carragher, Shearer, ones who cannot seperate their bias, can go.
Even Wright is too temperemental and maleable.
““He does need to be supported in the transfer window to get that squad exactly where he needs it to be then he won’t have to make as many changes.”
Look at what Leno, Lucas The Terrier and even Sokratis has brought to this team. Imagine a few more purchases like Lucas and what that would bring to Emery’s tactics and team?
Our list in order of squad priority should be:
1. Right sided attacker
2. Centre back
3. Left back
Just the right sided attacker IMO but it will be difficult bc most options are cup tied. Cback depends. We already have plenty of players so we will be unlikely to commit yet another to a long term contract. Should IMO swap Chambers at Fulham back for Mavropanos to them for rest of season. Left back no. That waits till summer. We already have Kolasinac who will improve and likely start to see more action again in a flat back 4 as he gains confidence. Monreal is also back to fold for rest of season. Add to that AMN and… Read more »
Wouldn’t you say Monreal has one more year left in him? I’d do LB summer 2020 and buy a CM as #3 priority instead. We’ll only have one creative CM in Mkhi, if Ramsey leaves and Ozil and Elneny are sold.
Get veratti or dybala and we should be unstoppable. Sell ozil if need be.
Just selling Ozil would be a start. Total fuckin disater that huge fuckin contract! I think a Pulisic or Bailey might be more realistic and possibly more useful too
Either way, time this great Club was managed sensibly again and have some hope that it might happen
Pipe dream. Until we get CL spot, most of these players you mentioned won’t come to us.
They will also be too expensive.
More likely we need to look at developing players like Pepe at Lille (not cup tied) or maybe Lozano (PSV) or Neres (Ajax) both cup tied.
January will be difficult to add players let alone entice players from clubs still involved in CL. to instead play in Europa.
Plus selling Ozil makes no sense (unless there is a willing buyer)
IMO we are better off selling Mhki renewing Ramsey and keeping Ozil.
He is the coq-zorla midfield all by himself
Or Fabregas-Flamini as one
Nah. It has also improved with the self improvement of Granit and the introduction of the very promising Guendouzi.
Torreria alone is not the answer to our better performance in midfield.
This is again lazy analysis by facile punditry.
Fabrini or Flamegas
Completely agree with that especially needing support in the transfer market as i personally think our biggest obstacle to finishing in the top 4 this season is the lack of goals and creativity from our attacking midfield.
IF we had added Mahrez last Jan before Schitty had the requirement and jacked his price upwards end of that window.
He was available and wanting a move to London.
Instead Mslintat refused City’s overtures for Alexis and then laid us prey to just one remaining bidder in United and Raiolla’s dictate. We ended up with Mhkitaryan.
Part of that looks like a hedge in case we lost Ozil as well and with Ramsey contract looming but we panicked.
I’m sure most will disagree due to bitterness, but that “bundle of energy” is exactly the same thing that Alexis brought to this team when he arrived. However it didn’t last long and most of the team returned to its lethargic ways, thus leading to Sanchez getting frustrated with teammates more and more, and fans getting frustrated with him being frustrated all the time… I’m just hoping that this won’t happen under the demanding management of Emery
We’ve been saying that we needed someone to replace the capability we missed when our greatest signing in the last 10years Santi Carzola (whom Wenger snapped up for a snip) got knocked long term. Wenger waited on Santi for far too long without addressing the engine room. Much of our defensive woes over past 3 seasons have been in terms of positioning and balance in midfield between supporting the attack and covering defense. We have struggled to get this right. Which is why I mentioned many years back that the issue in midfield/Defense was not bc of Flamini (who like… Read more »
Agreed. Just as Fellaini was for United. Hahah