Arsenal interest surprised Lucas Torreira as he expected to stay in Serie A

What's the story?

Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira has revealed that the North London club's interest in signing him had taken him by surprise as he initially thought he would remain in the Serie A.

In case you didn't know...

The 22-year-old joined the club in a move that cost Arsenal £26 million over the summer and has been phenomenal for the Gunners, having established himself as a mainstay in the Arsenal midfield.

The Uruguayan midfielder scored his debut goal for the club in Arsenal's thumping derby win over neighbours Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.

Torreira then added another goal to his tally during the Gunners' victory over Huddersfield on Saturday.

The heart of the matter

After having made a name for himself in Sampdoria, Torreira was aware of the offers from Italian clubs in the Serie A. However, a call from new Arsenal boss Unai Emery helped him settle to a decision on his future.

Speaking of the surprising offer, the midfielder told Arsenal Media, "At the end of my last season at Sampdoria there were lots of teams being talked about."

"I never imagined coming here to England because it was mainly Italian clubs being mentioned. Before I left for the World cup I got a call from the coach which was a massive surprise for me.

"I knew that I had earned it because of all my hard work and everything that I had done. That phone call made me a happy man.

"It allowed me to relax too because it allowed me to focus all my attention on the national team and the World Cup. I’m so proud to be part of such an important team."

The Uruguayan added, "It hasn’t been easy though: there’s the language and the issue of communicating."

"I’m lucky because the coach is Spanish and the coaching staff are too, so that makes things easier for me because they can explain things in Spanish to me.

"It’s also not been easy to adapt to the football here: the intensity, the tempo and quality of games. At Sampdoria I had been used to playing in Serie A and Coppa Italia whereas now I’m involved in four competitions here as well as the national team."

You can watch his entire conversation here: