Lucas Torreira has said that Arsenal cost him the opportunity of representing Uruguay in the recent World Cup qualifiers.
Torreira became a fan favourite when he joined from Sampdoria in 2018, with the midfielder a key member of former manager Unai Emery’s side as they reached the Europa League final in 2019. A goal in a 4-2 win over north London rivals Spurs did not harm his popularity either.
However, a change in the Emirates Stadium dugout to Mikel Arteta saw his playing time decrease and the Uruguayan was loaned out to Atletico Madrid in the 2020/2021 season - where he would would go on to win the Spanish league title.
A return to north London in the summer ultimately ended up with another loan move away from the Gunners, returning to Serie A with Fiorentina at the end of August.
Getting his career back on track is important for the 25-year-old, with the World Cup being played next year in Qatar.
Torriera was happy that the move went through and has now accused the Gunners of costing him a place in his national squad at the start of the month, where Uruguay drew once and won twice.
"At Arsenal, I had little continuity of late, which also cost me the call-up to the Uruguay national team in the last chunk of the World Cup qualifiers," he told Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla (via Sportwitness).
"With a cool head, maybe it was better this way, because I had more time to work at Fiorentina and to fit into the manager’s plans."
The Serie A giants paid a loan fee of £1.2million to sign the midfielder and have an option to buy. Torreira made 89 appearances for Arsenal.
