According to Italian publication La Nazione, Fiorentina are keen to take Lucas Torreira on loan in the second half of the season if Atletico Madrid calls time on his spell at the Wanda Metropolitano this month.
The Uruguayan moved to the Spanish capital in October but rumours surfaced pretty quickly that Diego Simeone isn’t a huge fan of the Uruguayan.
Torreira has featured 11 times for Atletico this season but completed 90 minutes just twice. His total of 322 minutes has been pretty measly and speculation has mounted that he could be sent back to the Emirates.
Asked about the situation last month, Mikel Arteta admitted Edu was trying to find a solution. Having worked so hard to shift players in the summer, it’s clear we don’t want him back so it makes sense to find another suitor.
Fiorentina met with Torreira’s representatives in August and were in pole position to seal a deal before Atletico turned the player’s head. Having already played for Sampdoria and Pescara, the midfielder is no stranger to Italian football and could be open to returning with a view to getting his career back on track.
He may not be short of offers, Torino, AC Milan and AS Roma have also sniffed about in the past.
I must say, given what we know about Lucas’ attributes, I did wonder if he’d get much game time at one of the best teams in Europe.
Fiorentina sounds a bit more like it…
Hindsight is 20/20.
If only Mike Dean could referee matches in hindsight…
The problem there is that Mike Dean would interpret that as he’d be allowed to change the rules so he was right after he’d fucked up.
Sorry, I forgot about that wealth of footballers who can’t get game time at a Europa team so go and play week in, week out for a Champions League team…
If there is one system that should suit Torreira down to the ground, Atletico’s hyper rigid setup where he doesn’t have to cover much ground should have been it
But circumstances meant he was essentially Partey’s replacement, which is pretty funny really. Sort of thing we’d do
Atletico signed Kondogbia from Sevilla as a replacement for Partey
From Valencia rather
Ah really, I missed that
On the 3rd November apparently?! Weird
La liga gives a team 30 days outside the transfer window to buy a replacement if they lose a player via their contract being bought out. That player would need to come from the Spanish leagues I believe due to registration
That’s pretty much it – the most notable/hilarious example being Braithwaite’s move to Barcelona (although in that case they lost a player to long term injury rather than a contract buyout)
… who has hardly played either
The best I have ever seen Torreira has been with Uruguay which–although I have not seen them enough to have more than an impression–seem like a team where a bunch of very strong defensive-minded players stop the opposition while some brilliant attackers (Suarez, Cavani) create goals without them. Obviously, that’s an exaggeration, but it feels like that.
The like is for ‘Public Elneny’; *hat tip* inspired
he was never Partey’s replacement. Simone plan was to partner Torreira and Partey together, but we were hatching another plan, offload his wages and squad space for Partey instead. A dick move in fact, but no complain as Arsenal fans.
I would much rather see a pairing of torreira and Partay than Xhaka and Elneny. I feel Emery ruined him trying to play as an attacking mid. Before this he was a beast in the centre of the park. Would happily give him another opportunity.
Not me, Torreira is not built to play PL, nor La Liga by the sound of it
He’s too small and slow, he gets bullied off the ball, we really don’t need him back.
This guy is victim of height discrimination. Not my preferred player but yes he is discriminated because of his height. Please do not come up with Messi blah blah blah.
Ok.
But what about Messi?
Messi has insane talent. Nobody is crazy enough to consider his height.
It is known Ngolo Kante was rejected many times because of his height. His attitude and determination always made them give him a chance.
It’s not just the height though, it’s height AND weight. As tough as he is he’s just really small. He gets pushed around a little too easily to play effectively for a long time in the EPL Look at the measurements of the players mentioned in this thread Messi Height: 170cm Weight: 72kg Kante H: 168 cm W: 70kg Torrential H: 166cm W: 60kg I actually like Torreria and really wanted him to succeed. But immediately teams figured they could just barge him off the ball + the form and fitness issues he faced, it was tough for him to… Read more »
I would rather have Torreira than Xhaka & Elneny..
Assuming he’s another one on crazy money which is why we are unable to sell this otherwise decent player.
You assume correctly. Is there another team in the PL with more high paid, “average” (politely put) players, than we have collected over the past seasons? I doubt it. It took time to gather such a group together – going back to AW’s time in several cases of course. It will take time to remove them from the payroll, although we’ll be able to take a big step forward in the summer when several contracts run out. This has been such a drag on the club’s finances that I really hope that the management don’t repeat these mistakes – that… Read more »
This is it. In certain cases, you can see how a player has managed to land a contract far above what they could hope for elsewhere. Eg Mustafi, Lacazette, Ozil etc were all signed against time pressure with no realistic alternative signing or internal solution available. So we may have felt we had to give into whatever the agent’s demands were to make sure it went through and we didn’t sink our season before it began. (of course it’s our fault for leaving important starting xi pieces to the last minute in the 1st place). With hindsight it looks stupid… Read more »
Kolas Inca is very understandable – he was the Bundesliga’s best LB that season and on a free transfer – we pay him £100k a week rather than £60k + a £25m transfer fee
Whoever sanctioned that fucking Willian deal should be sacked!
Willian, Luiz, Soares and Mari were all Kia clients I believe. Of the group, Mari is the one that looks like a good squad player. Luiz served a purpose for two years, short time so I don’t have a problem with that. Soares, 5 years?? and Willian 3 years were crap deals and we should figure out how to move them on and KSE can absorb the financial hit because their lack of oversight allowed this to happen.
what purpose did luiz serve he has been terrible since we signed him. gave away a record number of pens in his 1st season as well as a few red cards. Isnt playing as much this season and hes on a big wage. shocking signing
I guess that would explain Arteta’s stubborn approach to his selection. He simply has to come good, or someone’s budding credibility will be taking a serious hit. From what I’ve read about Stan Kroenke, he probably had reservations and had to be persuaded to sanction the deal.
Stan Kroenke? Are you serious mate?
I would doubt if he actually knew the shape of a football.
He thinks it’s an oval.
I think you’ll find he left “by mutual consent” already.
Edu very sullied by that particular transfer too though
3 years I believe.
I am quite certain that “average” players at Chelsea, Man City, Man United, and probably Liverpool are paid as much or more than at Arsenal. I suspect that Everton is not far behind.
I’ve been a rather vocal critic of Torreira who I think is a very fine footballer but I just thought he was too small for this league he got shoved of the ball and contributed nothing aerially and you want that from your defensive players. However with the changes we have made playoffs more on the front foot and actually passing forward! I think there my ne a case to recall him , we are very low on numbers and are still trying to find the perfect partnerships in midfield. Unless someone wants to buy or Fiorentinas offer is really… Read more »
Yes, because Ngolo Kante is a man mountain, and Claude Makelele literally laughed down at his peers in disdain of their height.
The whole ‘player is too small for this league’ argument is so lazy.
He is smaller than both and not built the same way. He does get pushed off the ball with no call from the ref because of his size. Not a player for the PL but can crush it in the Serie A. Sell.
Also think it wasn’t his height but his passing that was the main problem.
It absolutely isn’t when you are a team that has been playing on the Blackfoot as much as have and a deep block since he came so call me lazy all you like it’s absolutely factual.. Kanye doesn’t play in a low block and is physically superior to Torreira.
The point being that he is more likely to do well in a team that face the occasional counter and mainly attacking opponents I.e. what we are trying to do now. And no he wasn’t holding his own physically just look at the Watford game. Santi was a pixie but technically superior to anyone and held his own because of that.. Torreira isn’t at that level this is a physical league still.
This signing was Mislintat at his worst. Doesn’t have physical attributes for DM in Premier League. Will shine in other European leagues, not for us.
As I recall, we were very happy with his type of play initially and thought we’d sorted defensive midfield out. Then Dick Emery decided he should be an attacking midfielder which screwed him.
May not have been our best signing but by no means our worst.
Top post, well said.
Emery practically ruined Torreira’s Arsenal career for him, forcing a defensive midfielder to play an attacking role. A prime example of how Dracula didn’t know what the fuck he was doing.
A bit like Legohead
Agreed, I’m surprised by the revisionism that seems to have gone on with Torreira. I loved him initially, and in fact would be quite intrigued to see him alongside Partey who could compensate somewhat for his lack of size. That said, he never struck me as weak- I vividly remember him knocking people twice his size off the ball in that first few months of good form.
Clearly there’s a reason a few managers haven’t fancied him, but I think it must be to do with more than just his size, and he’s clearly got plenty of technical ability.
This revisionism is pretty common–people loved Kolasinac when he arrived, which no one will admit now. And Xhaka. And–wait for it–Mustafi.
Yup. I remember Xhaka was branded our Xabi Alonso when he was signed. And everyone was drooling over Mustafi, especially because we went on a really good run for the first 10 odd games we played with him and Koscienly at the back. I’ve said it many times Football Manager has made many people believe they know all about coaching and managing a football club, but it is hard hard work. Fans of today are very impatient and quick to criticize anything the club does when it doesn’t pan out , even though they were in full support at the… Read more »
In fairness I don’t think there’s any need to have the two as mutually exclusive? You can want a player to sign a contract then be dissatisfied with their performances afterwards. Though the sensationalist crap about him not caring because he’s got his bumper new pay packet winds me up. Auba will get a goal or two in the next couple of games and then the floodgates will open, I’m sure of it. Looks like he’s carrying a lot of baggage at the moment mentally.
I definitely agree. It’s okay to want a player signed and consequently be disappointed by their performance. The issue I was addressing was more of the revisionism that fans go through.
It’s very easy to blame the club for all the decisions made, when they look bad. But most fans do this willingly forgetting that they actually supported the decision when it was being made.
Revisionism, impatience, and entitlement is at an all time high with fans at the moment.
I guess you prefer Xhaka and Ceballos….
Kate?
The dude is a decent footballer, and you need to quit the rethoric of his signing was Mislintat at his worst. Does Kante have the physical attributes of a DM? Did he shine in the premier league or some other European league? Relax dude and free Torriera.
Kante is (was?) incredibly fast, fit and agile though, which is absolutely integral to a ball winning midfielder. Size and strength aren’t so much. Torreira seemed decently fit and agile, but he is genuinely up there with slowest players we’ve ever had – that was his big weakness, exacerbated when Emery made him chase the ball higher up the pitch
Torreira was suffering from homesickness too which inevitably caused his performances to be less enthusiastic over time. No way we should bring him back, though I do have a soft spot for him
Yes, I seem to recall he came last in training sprint times that was released online a while back. Not ideal for a top class defensive player.
https://arseblog.news/2018/08/aubameyang-reveals-some-surprising-arsenal-sprint-test-results/
Pretty embarrassing for Elneny, Xhaka and Guendouzi too, those results. Though there was a still a big drop from Xhaka/Guendouzi to Elneny/Torreira.
Lack of mobility in midfield leads to low intensity pressing and off the ball runs, leads to the turgid football we’ve seen these last 2.5 years. Even Coquelin would have helped us a lot if he stayed, I feel. Underrated player
Elneny would make a fantastic 5k/10k runner, but he has literally zero fast twitch muscle fibres
I remember only a couple of months ago, praise heaped on Elneny as, in the 94th minute, he sprinted back to the sideline in the opponents’ half to finish off a match. (I guess that was near the end of his 10k, and he had pulled ahead of the pack.)
Yeah fair play to him for that. His stamina and work rate aren’t in doubt, so his distance covered stats are v impressive and he can maintain a consistent effort through the game, with some to burn at the end
But when you need him to shift up to top gear when we’re stretched, it’s just not there. As a result he plays too conservatively knowing he’ll struggle to recover if we/he loses the ball. Especially as his likely partner, Xhaka or Ceballos, are pretty glacial too so they’ll struggle to cover him
Nice post. If you are slower than Xhaka you’ve got problems :/
Thanks for the speed link if only to remind us all of the “legend” that was Stephen Lichsteiner in the list. I must admit I had to look him up to remind me how bad he was.
And thanks to you I’ll have that Specials AKA song in my head for the rest of the day. But instead of Nelson Mandela it’s Lucas Torreira.
Another fart we need to get out of the spacesuit.
😂😂😂😂
Another top player, whose defensive attributes went sailing over Emery’s head, Arteta’s head – and clearly your head.
https://youtu.be/QMWDPJymksI
If Torreira is a fart then what’s Willian? I shudder to think.
I think we followed through.
If Torreira is a fart then Wilian is a big coil of freshly deposited turd
Does anyone know how loan terminations work? Are they required to pay off the remainder of the wages they’d owe us? Suppose its stipulated in the contract, but how does it usually work? Surely can’t just terminate it with no repercussions.
I’d guess the deal was a 6 month loan with no commitment thereafter.
Then they wouldn’t have to terminate it obviously.
I suspect if Atletico could find a way to take some revenge on Arsenal for our Partay trick they’d go for it
I imagine the only part where we need to reimburse is maybe an initial loan fee?? Not sure either
Good news, if true. Let’s get him out of the door and, hopefully, a few others in the current window (although that may be easier said than done).
Should we get him out the door or out the window?
Great little player. Far better than Xhaka, Ceballos and Willock put together. He should still be in the squad. They shouldn’t.
Thank god you’re not the coach.
Ian Wright “would love” Paul Pogba to play for Arsenal as he continues to be linked with a Manchester United exit.
Oh boy!
I know it wouldn’t ever be considered, let alone happen, but I’d struggle to think of a worse signing in world football relative to his price and what we’re trying to achieve/ the reasons we’ve struggled. New game: your NIGHTMARE Arsenal signing. Go.
David Luiz. Got real very quickly, sorry.
Willian
Diego Costa
Danny Rose.
Mesut Ozil
Diego Costa
Chelsea’s scraps, old, out of form and injury prone. Luckily he’s not Kia’s client…
All that, and his history with us. Used to ex Chelsea players noe but Cech, Luiz and Willian hadn’t soiled their path ahead in quite the same way
Don’t think he ever fully recovered from the job Mertesaker and Holding did on him back in cup final 17
Gallas, you keep forgetting Gallas… Although Benayoun was not very bad for us.
Dele Alli.
Fred
Bad dream: Marcos Alonso
Nightmare: Gareth Bale
Worst nightmare: Troy Deeney
No thanks, I’ll pass!
I liked him at The Arsenal, but I would use the money we would get from him to get a more offensive minded midfielder. Or to use it on what ever the main target is.
I think it is a situation, where it is just not a fit at the Arsenal and not just because of the on the pitch stuff. We need some money to get people in and this is one way to get some. So I have no reason against a recall and to sell him on.
Up The Arsenal!
Well, we won’t get any money for him initially at least as it’s a loan deal they’re talking about – indeed we may have to pay out to subsidise his wages there! Should the deal become permanent in the Summer then we can expect a fee of some sort although don’t hold your breath for a large amount. In the current market (assuming there’s no big turnaround later in the year) I think we’d be doing very well indeed to get £10 million – probably less though unless there’s a serious “bidding war” between several suitors.
We’ve got an oversupply of players, and an undersupply of squad places. Until we solve this issue, we’ll continue to put ourselves in a very weak negotiating position. We could lose: Torreira, Guendouzi, Kolasinac, Mavropanos, Luiz, Sokratis, Mustafi, Willian, Ozil, Nketiah All permanently, and we’d still have a first team squad of 23. Numerically, once we’re at this point, we should be working on a, 1 in + 1 out, basis The economists at Arsenal, don’t see to have a clue what they’re doing. To create a truly competitive internal environment, we need the right level of competition within the… Read more »
His best position is the base of a mid 4, a formation he absolutely thrives in with his National Team but we never play it.
I’ve always been a fan of his, one of the best pure tacklers on the team. I wish him well if we decide not to bring him back into the fold.