Arsenal have acquired a ‘very bright talent’ in their latest signing Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torreira said the Premier League side’s manager Unai Emery yesterday.
The 22-year-old – who is Emery’s fourth signing since he was appointed Arsene Wenger’s successor in late May – cost a reported £27million ($35.8million, 30.5million euros) to prise him away from Serie A outfit Sampdoria.
Torreira – the length of whose contract Arsenal did not reveal – performed well at the World Cup, playing in all their games and impressed national coach Oscar Tabarez enough to gain a place in the starting line-up in the 2-0 quarter-final defeat by France last Friday. 
“In Lucas Torreira, we have signed a young player who is a very bright talent in the game,” Emery told Arsenal’s official website.
“A midfielder with great quality, I have enjoyed watching his performances for Sampdoria in the past two seasons, and we all saw him do very well for Uruguay in the World Cup.
“He is a young player already with good experience, but who wants to keep on growing. We welcome Lucas to Arsenal and look forward to him joining us soon for pre-season,” added Emery, who allowed injury-prone midfield duo Jack Wilshere and Spaniard Santi Cazorla to leave when their contracts expired at the end of June.
Torreira, who had been at Sampdoria for three years, said he did not feel nervous about the challenge awaiting him in playing at one of England’s most historic clubs. 
“I feel calm,” Torreira said in his first interview with the club’s media team. I am used to coping with this kind of thing in the best possible way.
“It’s a very positive thing that people want to welcome me. It makes me feel comfortable.
“Now I am calm and I look forward to the future, which for sure will be very nice.
“I feel very happy. I want to make the most of this opportunity life has given me.
“I am really looking forward to starting this new adventure.”
Torreira joins Swiss veteran defender Stephan Lichtsteiner, German goalkeeper Bernd Leno and experienced Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopouloss as new arrivals at the Gunners.
The players and Emery will be under pressure at the very least to deliver a trophy – they went trophyless last season – and a Champions League spot, which they did not compete in last season and missed out on again for the upcoming season.

Torres says joining Japan’s Sagan Tosu
 Former Spain striker Fernando Torres has announced he is joining Japanese top flight side Sagan Tosu as a free agent after leaving Atletico Madrid last month.
“We have had offers from every continent. My new team will be Sagan Tosu of Japan,” the 34-year-old Torres said at an event held at the gym he owns in Madrid yesterday.
“I have had offers from France, Germany and even one from Spain but at no point did I ever think about going to another European team. I wanted a new challenge in a completely different place.”
Torres, who spent the bulk of his career with boyhood club Atletico across two spells, has also played for Liverpool, Chelsea and AC Milan and won the World Cup and two European Championship titles with Spain.
Sagan Tosu have been in Japan’s top flight J.League since 2012. In 2017, they finished eighth in the division but are in a relegation battle halfway through the current campaign.
Torres becomes the second high-profile Spaniard to head to Japan in the last few weeks after former Barcelona great Andres Iniesta agreed to join Vissel Kobe in May.