Robert Pires has heaped praise on Lucas Torreira and believes that the Uruguayan defensive midfielder will be a good acquisition for the club.
The 22-year-old has been linked to The Gunners in recent weeks and is expected to sign imminently in a £26m move from Sampdoria, subject to a medical. Pires, who played for Arsenal between 2000 and 2006 says that the player is very disciplined, a trait that went missing in Arsenal players in the latter stages of the Arsene Wenger era.
Torreira has impressed for Uruguay at the World Cup, and is being tipped to have a major impact on the Premier League. He has been compared to N’Golo Kante and Marco Verratti for his combative nature in the middle of the park despite standing at a modest 5ft 5in. He was majestic in the Round of 16 clash against Portugal, constantly nipping at the heels of the opponents, winning the ball impeccably and laying forward passes to his more advanced teammates.
Pires said recently that, “I like Torreira a lot. I was surprised by his performance. “He plays it simple and is always well positioned on the pitch.”
Unai Emery has made solidity his watchword with the nature of his transfers, with the likes of Bernd Leno, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos already signed by the former PSG handler.
Torreira has missed just five league matches in the last two years in the Serie A, and is rated as one of the best anchormen in the Italian topflight. Torreira will hope to have another big impact for Uruguay when they take on France in their World Cup quarter-final on Friday.