£26m summer signing Lucas Torreira could be the Arsenal equivalent to Chelsea’s tenacious midfield star N’Golo Kante, according to club great Gilberto Silva.
Unai Emery swooped for the Sampdoria talent’s signature during his first transfer window as manager to finally address an area that’s been crying out for improvement for too long.
Former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger attempted to use his French charm to lure Kante to Arsenal following his ground-breaking season at Leicester City but the 27-year-old opted for a move to Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to Standard Sport, Silva revealed he has high hopes for Torreira in North London though.
Can he have the same impact as Kante? I hope so. He’s got the potential. We saw that at the World Cup, where he did a great job for Uruguay. I watched him in the World Cup. He did a very good job. If you see the way he plays, he plays the game very simply, he makes things easy for him on the field.
He gives protection to the back four and support to the guys up front, he tries to find the best spot to be. The protective instinct is very natural for him.
Both stand at 5’6″ but their size certainly hasn’t affected them whilst producing eye-catching performances for France, Leicester, Chelsea and, in Torreira’s case, Sampdoria and Uruguay.
The 22-year-old hasn’t heavily featured at the start of his debut campaign with Arsenal but there’s no doubt he’ll become a key part of Emery’s plans for the coming years at the Emirates Stadium.
