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Edinson Cavani scored two goals against Portugal on Saturday night and they were enough for the South American side to became the second side to qualify for the quarter-final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This was another amazing World Cup match, where Uruguay actually used Portugal's tactics from EURO 2016 to beat them. Portugal had plenty of possession in the opponent's half but couldn't capitalize on it. Uruguay will play against France in the quarter-final in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday.
Cavani was outstanding and definitely deserved to win "Man Of The Match" award but Lucas Torreira ran the show in midfield and deserves as much praise as Uruguay's goalscorer. He played as a midfield destroyer against Portugal and he did an amazing job to keep Cristiano Ronaldo and co. at bay. He displayed a phenomenal defensive performance, punctuated by a number of huge interventions with 4 clearances and 4 blocks. The most impressive stat is that he won 3 aerial duels; he won more aerial duels than the entire Uruguay defense combined.
Arsenal's new manager, Unai Emery, wants to sign him, and is exactly the kind of dynamic midfield player they have been missing for over a decade now. He can play as a deep-lying midfielder or as a box to box midfielder, and will take Arsenal's midfield to a whole new level. The Uruguayan would add much-needed fighting spirit to Arsenal's squad, and is a mobile, intense and team-oriented player. He’s already a top player but still has so much more room for improvement.
This season, he played 36 games for Sampdoria in Serie A, where he scored 4 goals and also provided 1 assist. Aside from these stats, he was also the key man in Sampdoria's attractive style of play.
He would be an excellent signing for Arsenal, is a player that will excite fans, and has all the qualities that Arsenal need. They have been crying out for a relentless, aggressive and passionate defensive midfielder.
Torreira would protect the back four immensely and it looks like he enjoys defending, and will be a massive upgrade on Arsenal's current deep-lying midfielder, Granit Xhaka. Torreira, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil would form a very interesting midfield trio.
According to reliable reports in Italy, the deal is done and the World Cup is just delaying the announcement of the signing. It would be an absolute steal if they do end up buying him for the rumoured fee of £30m. He is going to be worth a lot more in the future than what they would pay for him now.
Arsenal will be a much better team with this little genius in front of their defense. A new contract for Ramsey, the signature of Torreira and one world-class winger would be a perfect transfer window for Arsenal.
