A decade after the Brazilian World Cup winner left the Emirates Arsenal look to have at last found a defensive midfielder of similar stature in the powerful pocket-sized Uruguayan
So it turns out what Arsenal had been missing all this time has been an energetic deep-lying midfielder. Who knew? It was entirely fitting that it should be Lucas Torreira who rounded off their 4-2 victory in the north London derby on Sunday; he had been the key player in the game, not just for what he did with the ball, and without it, but because of what he embodies.
In the days of the debilitating niceness, Arsenal would probably not have come back from conceding two goals in quick succession just after the half-hour. Late-period Arsène Wenger would have bemoaned his luck, made arch comments about the disputed penalty, and everybody would have wondered just how Arsenal could end up losing so disappointingly having started so well.
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