‘Better than Xhaka’: Arsenal told to keep £26m ace who’s joining another team

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Jamie O’Hara has urged Arsenal to ‘keep’ exit-bound Lucas Torreira at the club by claiming that he is ‘better than Granit Xhaka’, as he told talkSPORT.

The Radio pundit added that Lucas Torreira has a ‘horrible and nasty’ side to his game that he likes and Arsenal shouldn’t let him leave, before comparing him to former captain and current first-team star, Granit Xhaka.

Well, it seems as though Torrerira, who joined Arsenal for £26 million in 2018 (Sky Sports), is set to leave and join Turkish side, Galatasaray – Despite that talk, O’Hara has previously stated that it’s Xhaka who should leave.

Nonetheless, Torriera was signed by Unai Emery, the aggressive midfielder showed promise during the early part of his Arsenal career, including scoring in the north London derby against Tottenham.

But things have gone downhill since then, including falling out-of-favour under Mikel Arteta, as O’Hara shared his thoughts on the player’s future.

“I liked him,” said O’Hara. “I thought he was decent. He reminded me of myself in the way he played a little bit. He was horrible and nasty.

“Personally, I would keep him because I think he’s alright. I think he is better than Xhaka.”

ARSENAL TO SELL TORREIRA

Whilst Torreira was part of Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the USA, it’s pretty clear that his future lies elsewhere with Arteta in the dugout.

Arsenal’s first choice midfield is Xhaka and Thomas Partey added with the attacking flair and quick-thinking ability of club captain, Martin Odegaard further forward.

Then the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko will be used in midfield, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Mohamed Elneny and possibly Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

All of those players are probably ahead of Torreira in the pecking order, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the player in question isn’t part of the squad that faces Crystal Palace on Friday night.

For the second season running, the Gunners will kick off the new season, this time it’s a tricky away trip to Selhurst Park, where their club legend, Patrick Vieira and his troops, await them.