Fiorentina star Lucas Torreira praises Vincenzo Italiano and explains why he struggled to settle in at Arsenal.
The Uruguay international moved to Fiorentina on loan with an option to buy from the Gunners in the summer. The Tuscans have an option to make his move permanent for €15m at the end of the season. Torreira had joined the Gunners from Sampdoria for €28m in 2018 but struggled to play consistently at the Emirates Stadium.
“I barely spoke English in my first year at the club,” he said in a letter published by Cronache di Spogliatoio.
“However, a few players spoke Italian: Sokratis, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. I was sitting close to Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette in the dressing room. Crazy. Can you imagine me drinking mate close to them?
“I didn’t go out much, I had a person who often brought me groceries. One day, I went to the supermarket and, scrolling through the shelves, I saw a label with the name of my city: «Made in Fray Bentos».
“Just like me. A village of 25,000 people in the corridors of London. It was exciting. It was a jar, yes, but it was exciting.”
Life has changed for him in Florence where he is one of La Viola’s key players. He has two goals in 24 appearances across all competitions this term and only five footballers have played more minutes than him at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in 2021-22.
“Normality is also Nico Gonzalez speaking like a radio,” Torreira continued. “He never shuts up; sometimes we wonder if he has batteries and how we can turn him off.
“Us South Americans don’t speak the same Spanish as Álvaro Odriozola or José María Callejón. Alvaro has told me that he understands Nico’s Italian better than his Spanish. And sometimes, I also struggle.
Torreira’s Fiorentina future in doubt: ‘Arsenal still upset for Vlahovic’
“We are always together. Sometimes I ask him [Nico]: ‘Why are you even paying the rent if you are always here?’ The real challenge between us is on who prepares the best mate.
“There are many South Americans, including Igor and Arthur Cabral. It’s a nice group. We want Fiorentina’s good and we try to improve day by day. We have a super coach, we imitate him in the dressing room and we do the same with Krzysztof Piatek’s celebration: ‘Bum, bum, bum…’
“Italiano often shouts and he is really good. He is crazy on the pitch. We have a great rapport and for this reason, we often joke. Sometimes he takes off his jacket and becomes a teammate.”
Torreira’s agent Pablo Bentancur revealed earlier this month that Fiorentina are willing to make his client’s move permanent, although Arsenal are unwilling to give a discount as the Gunners are still upset about Dusan Vlahovic’s collapsed transfer in the winter transfer window.
Lucas @LTorreira34 si racconta nella sua lettera insieme a Cronache.
Il sogno @acffiorentina, gli esercizi con Suárez, la macelleria a Fray Bentos e la scomparsa della madre.L’intervista 📲 https://t.co/rI5JoOMWK6 pic.twitter.com/PNigO0epQM
— Cronache di spogliatoio (@CronacheTweet) February 28, 2022