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What can we learn from the failure of Lucas Torreira? A thread.
Aside from a bright first 6 months at Arsenal, Torreira& #39;s time at Arsenal has been largely underwhelming. Unable to get games, and disappointing in the rare times he& #39;s played, His sudden decline has puzzled many.
But what can we learn from this?
But what can we learn from this?
First of all let& #39;s look at his performances and stats. I& #39;ll focus on his on-ball attributes because those are the ones that have brought issues.
The first issue is, despite playing on a team with more possession than Sampadoria, he is getting on the ball significantly less.
Less ball time means less opportunities to impact the game. For a midfielder whose passing game pivots on rhythm via short passing, this hinders him
Less ball time means less opportunities to impact the game. For a midfielder whose passing game pivots on rhythm via short passing, this hinders him
There are a few potential reasons for this, some might include:
- Lack of the burst to lose a midfield tracker
- Poor body shape to encourage players to pass to him
- Poor understanding of angles/distances to move from ball carrier
- Lack of the burst to lose a midfield tracker
- Poor body shape to encourage players to pass to him
- Poor understanding of angles/distances to move from ball carrier
As, expected with a lack of touches means a lack of passes, and less passes means less moving the opposition around and creating gaps which attackers can exploit to score goals.
No goals means no wins.
No goals means no wins.
This isn& #39;t the only issue. Even when Torreira gets on the ball, he struggles in progressing the ball.
If you can& #39;t get the ball closer to the goal, you can& #39;t score goals.
If you can& #39;t get the ball closer to the goal, you can& #39;t score goals.
These 2 issues stack up.
If he can& #39;t get on the ball, nor do anything with the ball once on it, he becomes a black hole for building goal-scoring opportunities
If he can& #39;t get on the ball, nor do anything with the ball once on it, he becomes a black hole for building goal-scoring opportunities
Why is this interesting?
Because he wan& #39;t nearly as poor on the ball in Italy, in fact he was good. (Green is Torreira 17/18)
Because he wan& #39;t nearly as poor on the ball in Italy, in fact he was good. (Green is Torreira 17/18)
From his transition across Europe, his numbers on the ball have fallen massively, and like many other cases of players like him, it seems not enough importance was placed on the his& #39; leagues& #39; characteristics before buying him.
Italy is ranked dead last of all top 5 European Leagues for midfield pressures p90, successful midfield pressures p90, passes per def. action and tackles in the midfield 3rd p90.
That is a *huge* contrast to the Premier League.
That is a *huge* contrast to the Premier League.
Heading into a country like England as a 5& #39;4, 59 KG midfielder where:
1. The midfield marking is more man-orientated
2. The average player is more athletic, and more successful in duels
isn& #39;t always the best idea, especially considering the style of player Torreira is.
1. The midfield marking is more man-orientated
2. The average player is more athletic, and more successful in duels
isn& #39;t always the best idea, especially considering the style of player Torreira is.
The lack of space and time on the ball relative to Italy means Torreira ultimately struggled to adapt his speed of thought to the demands of the English game.
Becoming a player who& #39;s work off the ball, although good, couldn& #39;t outweigh the liability he was in possession.
Becoming a player who& #39;s work off the ball, although good, couldn& #39;t outweigh the liability he was in possession.
My point is, for players and coaches alike, more focus should be placed on the fit of the target to the footballing culture he& #39;ll be playing in.
Of course, quality will always prevail, but Torreira& #39;s case is one of many where, unfortunately, it just didn& #39;t work out.
Of course, quality will always prevail, but Torreira& #39;s case is one of many where, unfortunately, it just didn& #39;t work out.
Thanks for reading
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