Arsenal unveil fourth summer signing for £27m

Arsenal have completed the signing of Uruguay international Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria, the Premier League club have announced.

Torreira, 22, becomes Arsenal’s fourth acquisition since Unai Emery was appointed as head coach in May.

The defensive midfielder has cost the Gunners a reported £27million and follows Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno and Sokratis Papastathopoulos in joining the north London club this summer.

The club announced the signing on Tuesday afternoon, with Emery delighted to add Torreira to his squad.

“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.”

The length of Torreira’s contract was not disclosed by Arsenal.

Torreira played a part in all of Uruguay’s World Cup matches and started their quarter-final defeat to France last Friday.

With midfielders Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla released at the end of their contracts, Torreira’s addition will be seen as key for Emery to bolster his numbers in the middle of the park.

As well as bringing in a quartet of new signings, Arsenal have extended the contracts of Calum Chambers, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Granit Xhaka in recent weeks, while Mohamed Elneny has also agreed to fresh terms since Arsene Wenger stepped aside at the end of last season.

“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.”

Press Association Sport understands that Arsenal are also close to completing another deal to land France Under-20 international Matteo Guendouzi.

The 19-year-old Lorient midfielder was expected to undergo his medical on Monday and his arrival could be announced later in the week.

Emery will take charge of his first game since replacing Wenger when an Arsenal XI play Boreham Wood in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

Before then, the Spaniard will address the media on Thursday afternoon where he is likely to be quizzed over the club’s new arrivals and on Wilshere’s decision to leave for West Ham, rather than sign a new deal at the Emirates.

 

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