Lucas Torreira has revealed that he received a surprise phone call from Arsenal manager Unai Emery before Uruguay’s World Cup campaign. The 22-year-old officially completed his £26.4 million move from Sampdoria this week after postponing his transfer because of the tournament.
Arsenal were keen to complete the medical in Russia but the midfielder opted to delay proceedings until Uruguay’s run in the World Cup was over. Emery, however, ensured that Arsenal wouldn’t lose out on Torreira after deciding to speak with the midfielder before the start of Uruguay’s campaign in Russia. And Torreira admits he was ‘nervous’ about talking to Arsenal’s new manager.
When he called me, I could not believe it,’ Torreira told Ovacion. ‘I was in a hotel with a friend, and I got nervous. ‘It was difficult for me to talk because receiving the call from a coach of such an important team generates many things.
We spoke about several things. ‘He also did not want to fill my head with a lot of things because I knew the World Cup was coming and that I was focused on that.’