Good day to you all, busy one from an Arsenal perspective at least as far as the rumors are concerned. Today Arsenal have announced that Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria has signed and there are rumors that they are also going after Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
I wrote a piece for The Arsenal Review on Lucas Torreira and I have to say that I’m excited too see him in action for the Arsenal (I’m going to do a full stats dump here and on twitter in a minute). He has a lot of tools that fit in with the way that Arsenal want to play football and he’s quite the little defender. If they put him in a team with Ramsey and another, more mobile midfielder, I think we could have the makings of quite the midfield.
Many will suggest Xhaka but I’m struggling to see how that would work. Both players played the same role for their clubs last season and Torreira is a similar passer and much better defender than Xhaka. Torreira even took corners for Samp, which is where Xhaka got over half his assists last season (4/7). Xhaka is left footed, Ramsey right footed, so it is possible that they would line up like that in a midfield three or maybe Torreira offered the shuttling role (like Cazorla) though he doesn’t have experience in that role, he is a good dribbler.
One thing I think could possibly change for the better if Emery plays Xhaka-Torreira-Ramsey is that there will possibly be less space for Xhaka to cover (if Unai gets them playing progressive football with pressing and covering for each other). That will make it easier for Xhaka to simply use his size to take up space. That sounds like a slight but it really isn’t. Defending isn’t always about actions (tackles, etc) and just being in position is the most important fundamental. Anyway, it will be exciting to see how Unai deploys this team with Torreira.
For the financials people: The Guardian is reporting that Arsenal have reached an agreement for the price of £26m and have given £5m over the release clause fee in order to beat off Napoli. They are also reporting that his fee will be paid in three installments. The detail in this story is interesting because Arsenal have never been one to offer details of transfer deals but the fact that we are telling the Guardian “we paid over the odds” and “we are paying in installments” is a bit of obvious advertising for the Brain Trust. They are “not like the old regime” they “get things done, even if it costs extra” and “they are still smart about structuring deals so that there will be more money for more players.”
There was an old meme around the club that Wenger was the problem in transfers. Specifically that he refused to pay over the asking fee (for example, Luis Suarez) or that he would have a “valuation” of a player and wouldn’t pay more than that. It was a stick that he was beaten with often and this latest announcement looks like they are beating him with it once again. I guess we couldn’t just announce that the player was signed.
That other player Arsenal are saving up their dry powder for is Bernd Leno. The only question here is “why”?
A lot of people are confused by this link. For the first thing, he was at one time the hottest prospect in Germany but he’s not been very good the last few years. At least that’s what everyone is saying. I will do a complete analysis of his expected saves, saves in prime, and saves off big chances this week.
The second thing is that he is rumored to cost Arsenal £18m. This I think bothers people because we sold Szczesny for £12m and the above problem. Honestly, I have to wait until I see what his saves percentages are off those important big chances and prime shots before I get too down on him. But even Ornstein is reporting that Arsenal are after a keeper. If they sign Leno, that has to mean the end for Ospina.
As for things we DO know: Ainsley Maitland-Niles has signed a new deal and received a new shirt number: 7. I know that it’s passe to talk about squad numbers but I still think they matter a bit. (Now back to things we don’t know) If he’s being handed the #7 that means he will possibly play right wing for Arsenal, a much needed position. He’s an interesting choice there because he’s fast, he has an excellent dribble (35/49 last season), he was one of Arsenal’s better crossers of the ball (8/42 – despite being played out of position), and he can defend. I was confused because his twitter handle is Ains_7 – whatever.
Since he played on the left a lot last season, he had to stop to cross the ball (with his right foot), if he’s allowed to play a more advanced role on the right he will be able to cross in stride more often. Because of the way that both players amplify each other’s talents I also think the combination of Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles could be an exceptional partnership on the right and I’m (obviously) very excited by that prospect. That’s all speculation based off him being handed the #7 shirt but it is summer and nothing much else is going on!
That’s about it for today. By the way, I might be in and out of writing this week because of Father’s day and the fact that I’m taking my daughter camping. I’m also not going to write much about the World Cup – as you know I hate FIFA and think it’s a criminal organization that feeds off the beauty of football and our love of the game like a vampire. And just to show how hypocritical I can be – in my very next breath I can also say that I hope Seattle is a host city in 2026. Whatever, it’s normal for humans to hold two (seeming) opposing viewpoints about the same topic because topics like “The World Cup” and “FIFA” are complicated.
As promised here’s the stats dump on Torreira. If you want more analysis, go check out my post.
(All stats for League play only)
33 – Shots taken in league play last season: 30 right foot, 3 left foot, 29 outside the box
4 – Goals scored, all outside the box
12 – Percent conversion on his total shots, 14% on his shots from distance
2 – Percent conversion on Xhaka’s shots from outside the box last season (1/58)
1 – Assist by Torreira last season (from a free kick)
36 – Key passes by Torreira last season (16 from corners and 6 from free kicks, both stats led Samp)
35 – Successful dribbles last season (of 44 attempted 80% success rate)
148 – Attempted tackles (led Samp, 3rd in Serie A)
47 – Number of times he was dribbled
68 – Percent success rate of his tackles
64 – Percent success rate of Xhaka’s tackles
43 – Number of times Xhaka was dribbled
13 – Number of times Xhaka adjusted his shin pads after the opponents scored and he had forgot to run back
72 – Interceptions (led Samp by almost 40 over the second guy and was tied for 5th in Serie A)
37 – Interceptions by Xhaka last season
35 – Blocked passes by Torreira
21 – Blocked passes by Xhaka
46 – Fouls by Torreira
57 – Fouls by Xhaka
6 – Cards for Torreira last season
1817 – Successful short passes by Torreira (led Samp, 9th in Serie A)
206 – Failed short passes
2520 – Successful short passes by Xhaka last season (led Arsenal)
312 – Failed short passes by Xhaka
90 – Percent completion of short passes by Torreira
89 – Percent completion of short passes by Xhaka
90/165 – 55% long ball rate for Torreira
188/284 – 64% long ball rate for Xhaka
35 – Successful dribbles (of 44, 80%)
18 – Successful dribbles by Xhaka (of 24, 75%)
22/56 – Aerial duels by the 168cm tall Torreira
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