Lucas Torreira has opened up on his Arsenal career while writing a letter for Italian outlet, Cronache Di Spogliatoio.
The Uruguayan joined the club in the summer of 2018 as Unai Emery attempted to overhaul a squad to have grown stale during the final years of the Arsene Wenger era and initially impressed.
Still, the midfielder was used only sparingly under Mikel Arteta and was allowed to leave on loan for Atletico Madrid in 2020. While in the Spanish capital, Torreira won a La Liga title last season but was not signed on a permanent basis.
Now, however, the former Sampdoria star appears to be approaching his best. After joining Fiorentina on loan over the course of the summer, Torreira has started 19 of the club’s 24 Serie A games thus far, even scoring twice in the process.
Writing to the Italian publication, the midfielder discussed how Arsenal’s multi-lingual dressing room helped him settle into the club initially, as well as how he took particular enjoyment from seeing the meat pie brand Fray Bentos - named after his hometown in Uruguay - in London shops.
“Every time I go to the national team, I try to make the most of my proximity to certain champions,” he wrote.
“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 Lichsteiner and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
“In the dressing room, Mesut Özil and Alexandre Lacazette sat next to me. Madness. You can imagine: me drinking mate, and them next to me. Here we are, in London. Remember when I told you about Fray Bentos meat? I didn’t leave the house much, I had a person who often brought me shopping.
“One day, I go to the supermarket, and browsing the shelves, I see a label with the name of my city: “Made in Fray Bentos”. Just like me. A village of 25,000 inhabitants in the London aisles. It was thrilling. It was a tin, yes, but it was exciting.”
