Massive upgrade for Arsenal! How Lucas Torreira is really making a difference, according to Gary Neville

Gary Neville has hailed Lucas Torreira as a “massive upgrade” for Arsenal after the Uruguayan’s outstanding start to life in the Premier League.

Torreira scored his second goal in six days to secure a vital three points for Arsenal against a disciplined Huddersfield, following up a man of the match performance in the north London derby with another award on Saturday.

His goalscoring exploits may have thrust him to public attention but the 22-year-old has scarcely put a foot wrong since joining from Sampdoria for £26million this summer.

Torreira’s energy and discipline in midfield have been traits Arsenal have long missed, perhaps meaning it is little wonder supporters have taken so fondly to him so soon. They are not the only ones.

Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United and England defender Neville said: “He’s a massive upgrade on where they’ve been but most of all the impact he’s having on Arsenal’s mentality is huge.

“I think someone like him leaves his team-mates with nowhere to go. We’ve talked about Arsenal’s approach to games over the last two or three years and there was never that feeling that you felt as though it mattered at times.

“At times in big matches they always disappointed and you felt there wasn’t a leader out on the pitch for the players to look towards.

“If you look at him in that derby last week against Tottenham getting forward into the box he’s almost like this bundle of energy that everyone else in the team responds too, and this team needed that.”

Torreira has been a key part of Arsenal’s 21-game unbeaten run in all competitions but that hot streak has masked a string of difficulties faced by Arsenal head coach Unai Emery, whose side have not yet led in a Premier League game at half-time.

That reality has forced the former Valencia and Paris Saint-Germain manager into several half-time changes, including double swaps against Tottenham and Huddersfield.

“He’s almost having to over-manage them at the moment,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “He’s having to do that in every game at the moment and you wonder how long he can keep on doing that before it starts to break and creak because it almost feels like he is managing them to the absolute maximum in every single minute of every single match.”

“He does need to be supported in the transfer window to get that squad exactly where he needs it to be then he won’t have to make as many changes.”