Lucas Torreira my be met with an uncomfortable atmosphere when he returns to Arsenal this summer having lost his shirt number and hit out at the club.
The Uruguayan, 26, was once viewed as the future of the Gunners midfield after arriving in a £26million transfer from Sampdoria following an impressive showing at the 2018 World Cup, but has failed to see eye to eye with manager Mikel Arteta in recent years.
Torreira fell out of favour during the 2019/20 season and was loaned to Atletico Madrid before returning to Italy to join Fiorentina this campaign. He impressed for La Viola, directly contributing to seven goals in Serie A to help them finish seventh in the table and secure a spot in the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
However, Fiorentina chiefs are reluctant to meet the £12.6million right-to-buy option included in the original loan agreement. The player's agent, Pablo Bentancur, told Fiorentinanews.com the club attempted to haggle down the transfer fee while also trying to lower the €2.7million (£2.3m) per season they had agreed to pay his client.
Bentancur declared Torreira is "very disappointed" not to be extending his stay in Tuscany, which is hardly surprising given his deteriorating relationship with his parent club. Having lost his place in Arteta's plans last year, the Fray Bentos native angered Arsenal fans by posting an Instagram picture from a Spanish theme park while the Gunners were losing their first game of the season against Brentford in August.
One month later, he accused the North Londoners of ruining his prospects with the Uruguay national team with his lack of minutes. In a further blow last week, Torreira lost the No. 11 shirt he has donned since his arrival at Arsenal.
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Gabriel Martinelli is the new incumbent of the jersey, which makes sense on some levels as 11 is traditionally a forward's number rather than a midfielder's. However, it leaves Torreira and limbo and he could not help but post on social media : "What number will I wear next year?"
While he has one year remaining on his contract at the Emirates, the writing appears to be on the wall and it is highly unlikely he will have a place in Arteta's plans next year. That is despite many fans suspecting Arsenal need to invest in their midfield this summer.
football.london reports the Gunners technical director Edu is planning to sign a central midfielder, an attacker and a back-up full-back as his main priorities in the summer transfer window. Among the names linked with a move to the Premier League giants is Leicester ace Youri Tielemans while Wolves playmaker Ruben Neves is another option.
