Phil Thompson believes Lucas Torreira has been the ‘best signing of the summer’, but insists Arsenal need to sort out their back-line if they want to compete for the title.
The 22-year-old arrived at Arsenal over the summer from Sampdoria for £26million and quickly become one of Unai Emery’s key players following several inspiring performances in the middle of the park for the Gunners.
The Uruguayan has helped Arsenal maintain their impressive unbeaten run in all competitions which stands at 22 games, and Thompson insists he has ben the best signing of the summer in the Premier League.
Talking on Sky Sports show ‘The Debate’, the former Liverpool assistant manager said:
“I think this fella (Torreira) is the best signing of the summer for what he’s done at Arsenal.
“He’s better than (Mohamed) Elneny. He’s better than (Granit) Xhaka. He understands the position. You see him getting forward now in games because he’s more confident.
“He’s made a massive impact.”
Despite his praise for Torreira, Thompson went on to say that Emery must fix his back-line to compete for the title, and expects the Spaniard to sign more defensive than offensive players in future transfer windows:
“He (Emery) knows that this back-line is not good enough.
“And I think when he gets the chance, maybe in January, more next summer, you’ll see there will be more defenders coming in than offensive players.”
Torreira, who is set to start for Arsenal’s game against Southampton tomorrow afternoon, has become a hit with the fans due to his tenacious and dogged displays in midfield, and many will agree with Thompson that the Uruguay international has been the signing of the summer in the Premier League.
