The Arsenal manager has molded the Gunners into a well-oiled machine, but that process hasn’t been easy and has led to Mikel Arteta exiling a number of top-flight talent.

Former Arsenal star Lucas Torreira once called the Gunners dressing room ‘madness’, although Mikel Arteta assured that was not the case these days.

Torreira was brought to the Emirates by then-boss Unai Emery in 2018, but after a bright start to life in north London, the Uruguay international’s form has taken a hit due to reports of homesickness and the desire to leave the Emirates. After being loaned out to Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina, Torreira’s final exit was confirmed last summer when he joined Galatasaray on a permanent basis.

Shortly before his departure, Torreira opened up about his time at the Gunners in an open letter published by Italian outlet Cronache Di Spogliatoio. In the letter, he talked about what it’s like to share a dressing room with Mesut Özil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. “Every time I go to the national team, I try to make the most of my proximity to certain champions,” wrote Torreira.

“I was lucky enough to meet many of them. At Arsenal in my first year I didn’t speak English, but some in the team did speak Italian, like Sokratis, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.”
“Mesut Özil and Alexandre Lacazette sat next to me in the dressing room. Crazy. You can imagine: me drinking mate and her next to me”.

Well, almost exactly one year later, all three of the aforementioned trio left the club. Two had already been suspended when Torreira’s letter was written to Ozil and Aubameyang, although Lacazette was not behind when he parted ways with Arsenal last summer.

The outings mark a stark shift in strategy from Arteta, who has apparently been trying to rid the Gunners’ locker room of two or three big stars and the kind of egos that go with them.
Replaced instead by a group of talented players who have all adopted the vision of the Spaniard.

It’s a plan that has worked perfectly so far with Arsenal now looking like a different beast to the struggling side they’ve been with for so long during Torreira’s time at the club. The Gunners are currently five points clear at the top of the Premier League and with reigning champions Manchester City breathing down their necks, Arsenal’s improvement under Arteta cannot be ignored.

Most Emirates loyalists would say that Arteta busting out Torreira’s favorite trio of teammates would be one of the key factors behind Arsenal’s rise.
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