Is Torreira really the quality DM that Arsenal need?

Why are Arsenal fans so excited about Torreira? by Dan Smith

Apparently it seems when and not if we sign Torreria which most fans seem excited about. How many supporters have actually watched him play would be interesting, indeed that’s the case for most of our transfer targets. Gooners seem happy that we are prioritising the DM position but the idea that we have not had someone in that role since Gilberto is a myth.

Denilson, Flamini, Song, etc, there are numerical examples of players who were signed, they just didn’t end up being the next Patrick Vieira. At the time Arsene Wenger was accused of gambling on unknown talent rather then going the extra mile for a marquee name. The irony being that Gooners are now celebrating the capture of an unknown quantity at a time when we need a marquee name.

Don’t get me wrong, not being a household name does not mean you can not make an impact or at worse be sold on for a profit. In fact we are a club famous for making stars while finding value abroad. Do our board though really think this is the type of acquisition that will close the gap between us and Manchester City? Is this the type of target that any of our rivals would make?

Of course the reality is our interest in the South American is more based on the fact of getting someone for just over 25 million at a time where it’s hard to get anything for that amount. We can’t critise the recruitment team, they are just working with the agenda they have been set. We should question though why that criteria has been given ?

Why are we as fan accepting this?

Dan Smith

72 Comments

    1. For a DM, the fans seem to be raving about Doucoure that is valued around 15.6 millions according to football-observatory.com (football-observatory.com/-Ratings-eng-), whereas Ndidi costs around 62.7 millions

      Doucoure and Ndidi are better physically, but I think Torreira excels technically. We also already have Xhaka, that is quite tall and strong

        1. Don’t bump into Nostradamus on your travels, Kev. He would have known four hundred years ago, unlike you today, that we actually play Man City, not BHA. Oh dear!

        2. How many times do you have to be proven wrong until you stop talking as if you are a legitimate source of information?

      1. Doucoure is a box-to-box MF, not DM.
        His marking and tackling not good enough for a DM role.

        How many times does this have to be repeated (rolls eyes)?
        And no, Fellaini is not a DM either. LOL

        I like Doucoure, but expensive for a backup to Ramsey unless Ramsey plays AM from now on…

  1. Give the new recruitment team and new manager a chance! They might just know what they are looking for in a player. I’m certainly just happy to see and feel the new energy thats coming from the Emirates. Emery might not get it right this season but I’m happy to give him some time. We’re finally on the up.

  2. Kind of true. Most of the players we have signed or are rumoured to be signing are ones whose names we ve never heard of and who we would not recognise if they walked into our living rooms. We pay top prices to watch our team , but our owners use us as a cash cow and don’t spend top prices to get us the success we deserve. At best we re back to our target for last 10 years …. making that elusive top 4

  3. Torreira’s playing style is similar to Kante, hence maybe he would need a DM with better physical attributes as a partner, unless Emery’s Arsenal can play like Barcelona or Manchester City

    Kante needed Drinkwater at Leicester City, where he broke the opponent’s attacks with his high mobility and Drinkwater stayed behind. In Manchester United, he stayed back more often, when Nemanja Matic was roaming around

    Torreira could be a good breaker and he also could be a CM if he fails as a DM. Of course there are better players than this 25 million midfielder, but the fans would have to be realistic with Arsenal board’s mindset

  4. Times have changed my friend.

    a Defensive midfielder doesn’t have to be big like viera.

    if he is agressive,fast,has the intelligence to make interceptions and break up play,the positional discipline

    south americans are also know to have alot of physicality.

    he is a good DM,very good at pressing.

    he can do the job.

    just look at other small DMs who have the same traits like ngolo kante,idrissa gueye,veratti.

    there is no need to have a big useless DM like fellaini when you can have a small intelligent,paced,high energy,nuisance to opposition small DM like torreira.

  5. I hate this talk of comparing our players to the invincibles….he can be our new Lucas torreira

    1. Torreira is the same height as Ngolo Kante, Claude Makalele, Paul Scholes, and many other great midfielders so that’s not a problem. He’s a bit light-weight, but he’s still quite young and can always bulk-up in the gym, so I don’t reckon his physique is a problem. I don’t know much about him personally but he sounds exactly the type of character that we need in midfield IE. Rough & tough.

  6. Amazed by the negativity of the so called fans, we can be patient for atleast one season

  7. he is not strong physically we need someone like Kante or Ndidi, why not just sign Ndidi he is one of the best in premier league right now .

    1. Ndidi is around 62.7 millions, according to football-observatory.com

      For a strong and tall midfielder, we already have it in Xhaka

        1. Classic arsenal fans, bash a player even before he has kicked a ball. Same way Henry was bashed, see how he turned out.

    2. We need someone like Kante, Kante was once where Torriera was last season only even more out of sight. People need to stop throwing out a name like it was always so obvious to me that he was the best. Name me two, super Kante like, players right now that we could in a snap.

      1. Maybe we should not even get a DM at all. This damn arsenal if she does and damn arsenal if she doesn’t is attitude is pathetic. Hearing all this complaining from a bunch of moarners about a player we are yet to sign is annoying like i said. These are people that will throw away Xhaka for free for kante and now that we are sniffing around a player like him all hear is he is too short, too slow, not strong enough etc. Nothing arsenal has or does will never be good enough for some. What i don’t understand is why do they still support this team.

  8. I tried to see his video on you tube, he is very technical and strong player though he is shorter. For me it is a good acquisition to improve our midfield.

  9. To everyone who expresses disdain about Torriera simple because of his size for the position,. I have two questions:

    Did you express similar disdain when Santi Cazorla was put in the DM position?

    If you did, did he change your mind?

    My answers are “yes” and “yes”. Let’s not be quite so critical and give him a chance – he seems to be more experienced in the role than Cazorla was when Wenger handed it to him…

    1. But Cazorla was NOT a ball winning Central Midfielder.He had Coqulein next to him in that role.Santi was a deep lying playmaker.
      Torreira is an out and out ball winning CDM which is what the team have lacked since the days of Gilberto Silva.Why there should be so much negativity on signing a player we have all been desperate to have for over a decade is beyond me.Anyone who have seen the YouTube clips will see immediately this is EXACTLY the type of player we need.Ok so he’s not the tallest but his job will be to win the ball and distribute it to the many offensive players we have.He looks the part to me

        1. Agree as well Phil.
          He looks like s little terrier.
          Only problem I can see is it gives Mike Dean and company the perfect excuse to bring out the red card at every opportunity.

          By the way, the first post asked who we could afford?
          Well, about this time last year we were told that there was unlimited funds for our ex manager to spend, so why are we asking that question…what we should be asking is where has the money gone?????

  10. For those who are still doubting his effectiveness in Premier League, take a look at his performance against Manchester United:

    youtube.com/watch?v=MjF8ZfWNz7k

    According to @kev a.k.a @Resource a.k.a @Remember Resource? , he is an Arsenal player already, so it’s useless to doubt him. In my opinion, he would need a good DM behind him to make him able to break the opponent’s attacks like Kante

      1. The problem might be pressing, Torriera it seems might have been selected because it’s one of his top traits. Xhaka can’t press, he’d have to stay as deep lying if pressing is the plan. Ramsey would be good at it, Wilshere would not but he’d be better than Xhaka. Elneny can press but he’s not a starter. Niles would be very good at it. I think Xhaka would be good in a slightly more forward role concentrating on play making or lofting it towards a corner flag which he’s good at when his head’s in it. We are not done in this window nor in this area. Emery is big on pressing, aggression, speed of mind.

  11. Of the three so called DMs mentioned @Dan, yes Denilson was garbage but Flamini had one really good season then buggered off and Song very similar except he had one great season then decided he was some marauding box to box player and we all know how that ended. It’s the manager who dictates how a team should play but all Wenger seemed to do was give them a ball and say “just go out and enjoy yourself”. Emery will hopefully install some discipline in the side. By the way I have seen Torreira, and not just YouTube clips, trust me he is a class DM.

    1. Declan,so if that was all the ex manager did, why actually let Song and Flamini go?
      Perhaps he saw the same traits as you did and, following your powers of observations, did exactly what you would have done?
      That makes sense doesn’t it and you should be proud that he and you think the same don’t you agree?

  12. Considering it’s a world cup year and the fact it’s Arsenal’s transfer budget I think they are doing as good as could be expected so far. I want to see why this lad is called diamond eye so I feel I might get to see it with Torriera, Leno, just a pity about Adli though. Other seasons we would go into that world cup looking at players then wait til bloody deadline day even though we knew which areas needed at least something. Now we get a look at Torriera in world cup. Also we get to look at world cup players but wont be held to ransom when teams realize Arsenal have holes in their side and fans are baying at the doors. We’ll have all our scouts looking closely for more surprises hopefully, like a Uruguayan national at the beginning of career for 25m, it’s good that no-one knew him because he’d be at Napoli before any of us realized he was up for grabs and then we might be saying Torriera of Napoli like it’s a no brainer. We are not done yet and Emery has not even decided fully on which players to discard yet.

  13. I think he should be given a chance. We might not need a £1b player or a known name to correct things. Leicester did it

    1. man city at home followed by chelsea away. This start of the season will be fire, can you imagine the reaction if we beat both or lose to both, twitter will explode and arsenal tv will go thanos snap finger dust the end lol.

      1. I see us winning those games. Unlike City and Chelsea we don’t have too many players at the world cup. So our players will have more time together at Pre-season.

      2. I have a feeling this will come out good cos it will give Emery and the men in charge of transfer the reasons to get the right players in on time so that they can know themselves and build a strong relationship already

    2. If we get something out of those two games, that’ll give our a season a fantastic kick-start!

      Imagine if Wenger was still here…he would rest half his team against City “my players aren’t physically ready”, and we’d be lucky if had signed anyone at that point “we have a fantastic squad, Walcott is WC, the club is in a fantastic position”. Haha!

        1. Thank god we haven’t got Wengers excuses to look forward to any more.It depressed you even before a ball was kicked

          1. Excuses? Wenger? WELL PERHAPS JUST THE TEN THOUSAND HE MADE! I was just waiting until he blamed my cat. He had used every OTHER excuse under the sun, already.

  14. boring fans… @gotanidea nice comment. we already have a tall MF in Xhaka and Niles isn’t short either. We need to win the ball back as quickly as possible. This guy will surely bring a lot of energy to our play, that’s what’s most important. At the end, there’s no pleasing Arsenal fans. If he was Kante I’m sure no one would be complaining

  15. What a pathetic article, how do we know what this guy will be like until we see him play in an Arsenal shirt. Also people have to realise that we cannot go out and attract the very best well known world class players at the moment. For goodness sake let’s give the new coach and recruitment team a chance !!

  16. OT;
    I’ve just seen Wilsheres latest Instagram message, it reads; ‘There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page and closing the book.’

    To be honest I’m sick to the back teeth of these rather pathetic messages from him, it’s all very childish, and if he thinks it’s going to get fans on his side he’s wrong, exactly the opposite in my opinion.

    If I’d been in charge at Arsenal, as soon as Emery was appointed I’d have given him a week to sign the contract or it would have been withdrawn, simple as that. Emery needs to know if he’s staying or going to know what holes need to filled in the squad, not to be pandering to a player behaving like a petulant child.

    1. Can’t argue with you at all on this one.Hes going without us doubt so let him come out and say it and we can all move on.There was a time when all fans were desperate for Wilshere to get back to fitness and get back in the team.He did that (eventually) last season and didn’t show enough to wattant a regular starting place so he’s had more than enough opportunities and now it’s time to go.

    2. Wilshere has too high an opinion of his own abilities. Most of us no longer share them and are content if he leaves. It looks as though he finally, will. No weeping and wailing in our house, I can promise you!

  17. I dont know why we arsenal fans complain for no reason.Am a nigerian but to be honest this guy toreirra is better than ndidi in every aspect the only area you can say ndidi has an advantage is the height which doesn’t count.Put your hands across and watch next season you will see this guy in full colour

  18. Looks a great buy to me – at reasonable money, and good age.

    Looking forward to the new Arsenal chapter. Exciting times to be a Gooner again

  19. Dan, old son, you are out of touch with reality, also known as Wengers disease! You say that such as Denilson, Flamini and Song were DM’S which is true , OF A SORT, BUT they were all nowhere near good enough. Denilson was a complete wally and waste of our shirt his whole time here. Song had some talent but zero discipline and refused to stay in place consistently and was, thus, no good to us. Flamini had one half decent season only. Since they left we have the dreadful Xhaka, who is to tracking back and mobility what I am to embroidery! ABSENT COMPLETELY! The new team and especially Emery has hardly got their feet in the door yet for goodness sake! It is not THEIR fault that our owner is a miser and they have to work near miracles, without the REAL money he could easily allow, were he not such a stingy old git! Most of us , I suggest to your impatient brain, are content that the new regime is actively seeking to do something to bolster and restructure the joke of a “defence” which Wenger left behind. After the stagnant last decade, I for just one Gooner, am thrilled at the new team makers and how things are clearly happening. In this WC summer, things are bound to be made harder than usual to sign top players, and will take more time. Relax and chill Dan and join the vast majority of us who live in reality land!

  20. If we got Nzonzi next to hin, I’d be super confident but i just don’t know if Xhaka can compliment him at the pivot. In any case I wouldnt mind seeing a midfield 3 of xhaka, Ramsey and torreira. If we can ship Ozil out for a quality playmaker who can sit on the wing (someone hazard-esque) than this could work out for us

  21. Granted, I am an uninformed football fan at the arse end of Africa. But I had to look into Fabinho and Jorginho when their names came up. To me Torreira is a similar scenario. His injury record is encouraging, played two full seasons for Samp, starting the vast majority.

    I like that he doesn’t feature in the assists and goals column, it means that he understands his job, doesn’t seem like the penny has dropped for Xhaka in that regard yet.

    With Torreira in the DM role, we could give Xhaka more of a license as a box to box which could facilitate the Emery high press tactic.

    Also, we saw what a difference Coquelin made when he came in, he certainly wasn’t a world beater, but he did what his predecessors wouldn’t/couldn’t. If Torreira is an improvement on Coquelin I will be happy with the addition.

  22. Richard Cavahlo has apparently applied for cancellation of his contract with Sporting Lisbon. Therefore he may be available for a reasonable contract fee to play along side Lucas Torriera.

  23. for all those that doesnt believe he’ll b a good signing, i think today is the day he will prove u all wrong. u should spend your time watching him against egypt today, i’m sure u will all say something else.

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