Granit Xhaka has pronounced himself pleased with the balance Lucas Torreira has brought to an Arsenal midfield so often desperately short of exactly that since his arrival this summer.
Torreira joined from Sampdoria for £26million in Unai Emery’s biggest signing of his first transfer window as Arsenal head coach and the Uruguayan international is already proving himself to be a shrewd acquisition.
Though more than just a midfield destroyer Torreira has added a steel to Arsenal’s midfield, averaging a tackle or interception every 19 minutes in the Premier League.
Torreira’s arrival has also freed Xhaka from the defensive responsibilities that weighed heavy on him in his first two seasons in England, allowing the Swiss midfielder to act as a deeper-lying playmaker in Emery’s double pivot.
If Xhaka has been largely improved this season then Torreira’s influence in the Swiss midfielder’s displays should not be overestimated, as he himself concedes.
“Lucas gives us good balance in the team between offence and defence,” Xhaka said.
“He lets me play my game with the ball and go a bit more in front. I am happy with him.
“You can see that he’s important for us because he’s strong in defence and in duels. He can play easily from side to side and going forward, he helps with our balance.”
Torreira was included in a strong squad that travelled to Lisbon for a tie that will go some way to dictating which of Arsenal or Sporting tops Group E. The two sides are currently level on six points.
Also in Emery’s squad are strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who has recovered from an ankle injury. With Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac (both hamstring) still sidelined Carl Jenkinson was the surprise addition to the 21-strong travelling party.
