15 March 2023 , 10:26
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Ex-Arsenal star Lucas Torreira once dubbed the Gunners dressing room as 'madness', though Mikel Arteta has made sure that is no longer the case nowadays.
Torreira was brought to the Emirates in 2018 by then-boss Unai Emery, but after a bright start to life in North London, the Uruguay international's form declined amid reports of home-sickness and a desire to leave the Emirates. After loan spells away at Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina, Torreira's permanent exit was confirmed last summer as he joined Galatasaray on a permanent basis.
Shortly before his departure, Torreira reflected on his time with the Gunners in an open letter published in Italian news outlet Cronache Di Spogliatoio. In the letter, he discussed how it felt to be sharing a dressing room with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
"Every time I go to the national team, I try to make the most of my proximity to certain champions," wrote Torreira.
"I have been lucky enough to meet many of them. At Arsenal, the first year, I didn’t speak English, but some in the team spoke Italian, like Sokratis, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
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"In the dressing room, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette sat next to me. Madness. You can imagine: me drinking maté, and them next to me."
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Lucas Torreira underwhelmed at Arsenal (Getty Images)Well, nearly exactly a year later, all three of the aforementioned trio have left the club. Two had already been exiled by the time Torreira's letter was written in Ozil and Aubameyang, though Lacazette wasn't afr behind as he bid farewell to Arsenal last summer.
The exits mark a clear change in strategy from Arteta, who has seemingly tried to rid the Gunners dressing room of two or three big-name stars and the kind of ego that comes with that.
Instead, replacing it with a crop of talented players who have all bought into the Spaniard's vision.
It is a plan that has worked perfectly so far, with Arsenal looking a different beast now as opposed to the struggling outfit they were for so much of Torreira's time at the club.
The Gunners currently sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League and while reigning champions Manchester City are breathing down their necks, Arsenal's improvement under Arteta cannot be ignored.
Most of the Emirates faithful would herald Arteta culling Torreira's preferred trio of team-mates as one of the main factors behind Arsenal's rise.