According to Lucas Torreira’s agent, the 23-year-old Uruguayan has some reservations about how he’s being used tactically by manager Unai Emery.
Torreira has become a fan-favorite at Arsenal since joining from Sampdoria in the summer of 2018. His prowess as a holding midfielder has branded Torreira a tenacious player who excels in preventing counters and progressing the ball forward.
Yet with Arsenal struggling for results and Emery under fire, the players are apparently struggling to accept the tactical makeup of the squad. The Gunners have gone five matches without a win across all competitions, including four in league play, dropping them to sixth in the Premier League table, a whopping 17 points back of leaders Liverpool.
“Torreira is doing well at Arsenal, although the change of role doesn’t make him happy,” said Torreira’s agent Pablo Bentancur to Italian radio station Radio Marte, as quoted by CalcioMercado, “but it must be said that this year the whole team is not doing well. It was difficult to take Torreira at the time, now I don’t know how things are, but I think Arsenal wants to retain him. In the new role he is not at ease, but we respect the coach’s decisions, after that we’ll see what happens.”
Betancur wouldn’t go into specifics, but a closer look at Torreira’s usage this season specifically points to a neutering of his ability to move the ball forward in Arsenal’s attack, instead seeing him pass laterally to hold possession conservatively.
Being an Italian station, the agent was also asked about Torreira’s prospects of returning to Italy, which Betancur answered positively, saying he would especially be open to a move to Napoli, citing his Uruguayan heritage. “Why? Because he is Uruguayan. To tell you, he wants to end his career at Boca and Napoli is an environment very similar to that of Boca. Naples future destination? In football anything can happen.”
Torreira’s contract runs for another three full seasons, expiring in the summer of 2023, so Arsenal has significant control over the player’s immediate future. However, should the club continue to struggle and miss out on Champions League play yet again, there could be some tough decisions to make at the Emirates regarding how to control the wage bill with yet another season outside Europe’s top competition.
