Looks born to play Merryball
Lucas Torreira (David Ornstein+Guardian update on page 5)
Klaus wrote:Part of me suspects that this is an indication Ramsey is going. I think Xhaka, Elneny and Maitland-Niles all could take up the role next to Torreira. Ramsey probably not so much.
Yeah, that could be a possibility. Dammit Klaus, you ruined my Wednesday.
I really think Emery might see Ramsey as someone to go in front of those guys.
Jeremy Wilson, who's normally fairly reliable on Arsenal news, claimed just a few days ago that strengthening midfield was a priority but the strategy would be framed by Aaron contract talks (that are supposedly positive). Not sure what that means exactly or how it links with this.
My personal take was that if we were to sell Ramsey we'd be going for a high profile replacement. So I'm going to be positive and assume that signing Torreira is actually a sign that the Ramsey talks are going well enough that we pushed ahead with a lower profile signing. You're welcome Mirth.
I like that his first instinct is always to pass the ball forward whenever he can. Honestly I would very much prefer a tall commanding CM that we lack so badly over the past decade but beggars can't be choosers. Have a feeling Emery will use him like how he used Ever Banega to perfection.
Once the deal is completed he will be the 3rd Uruguayan to join us after Sebastian Viera and Fabian Carini
Ricky1985 wrote:Definitely.
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Laca/Auba are going to love him. Clearly he has it in his mind/gameplan to get the ball forward as quickly as possible, no fappign about.
maybe the plan is to play 3 CMs, and he will play this guy and ramsey as the two "outside" CMs in a 4-3-3
that leaves ozil on the wing. or sold. which is fine by me.
Torreira doesn't have top class technical ability. He keeps things simple and fast moving though. Good tackler, good at keeping his body between the opponent and the ball. I would love to see us buy another CM, a bit of a silkier passer maybe, and sell Xhaka.
Yeah, that's my impression too. It doesn't seem like he has the range to play as a pivot. He seems more like the type of player we would've wanted Coquelin to be. It seems like you would have to pair him with some other midfielder adept at breaking the lines, whether that's Xhaka or someone else like Ceballos. I suspect we're done with midfield signings, though, unless Ramsey leaves.
If we can re-sell Xhaka, there will be the money for another midfielder. There's a lot of talent out there this summer.
Torreira is a little bit like Ever Banega on fast forward
Those compilations are underwhelming, but hopefully he's a Kante-like player who can run and press the entire match, and still pass the ball nicely.
tbh i'm not even too fussed with how competent he is on the ball, even though he looks serviceable enough. certainly wouldn't classify him as a high level string puller or technician
anticipation, positioning, and tackling are the main things i'm excited about. we've lacked this since forever
Don't laugh but I feel Elneny could surprise us if tasked with the tempo dictator role. Underrated range of passing on Mo.
I would because he barely even passes sideways let alone forward
I would sell him and bring in a big powerful bloke. We're still missing that option in central midfield.
If we don't buy another CM (apart from Torreira) I'd try out both Xhaka and Elneny in different games alongside the Uruguayan and Rambo.
Xhaka has come a long way this season imo. Hoping he can continue to improve under the new manager. Think the midfield as it is + Lucas is lacking in technical ability/keep possession though, would suffer in big games.
Mirth wrote:Klaus wrote:Part of me suspects that this is an indication Ramsey is going. I think Xhaka, Elneny and Maitland-Niles all could take up the role next to Torreira. Ramsey probably not so much.
Yeah, that could be a possibility. Dammit Klaus, you ruined my Wednesday.
I'd think that Rambo is more the typical Emery #10 type at the top of a midfield 3 in a 4231 than Ozil.