Arsenal have confirmed that Lucas Torreira has left the club to sign for Turkish Super Lig side Galatasaray on a permanent deal.
The 26-year-old made a name for himself in Italy with Sampdoria and also featured prominently for Uruguay at the 2018 World Cup, which led Arsenal to fork out £25.8m for his signature.
Torreira immediately became a fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium under Unai Emery, scoring his first goal for the club in a 4-2 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Torreira failed to hold his position in the side under Mikel Arteta, though, and he also spent months on the sidelines with a serious ankle injury in 2020.
The South American was due to become a free agent in the summer of 2023, and despite returning to Arsenal for pre-season, he was always expected to seal a permanent move elsewhere.
Thank you and best of luck, Lucas ❤️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 8, 2022
After a switch to Fiorentina fell through, Torreira was the subject of a bid from Galatasaray which could reach up to €7m (£5.9m), and Arsenal willingly accepted.
The midfielder initially stalled over a move to the Turkish giants but was recently pictured alongside fellow new signing Dries Mertens on the plane after agreeing a four-year contract.
Torreira leaves Arsenal after racking up four goals and six assists in 89 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions and was a part of their FA Cup-winning squad in 2020.
After Torreira fell down the pecking order under Arteta, he was loaned to Atletico Madrid for the 2020-21 season but also struggled to earn regular starts in Diego Simeone's star-studded midfield.
The ex-Sampdoria man was expected to head back to South America last year following the death of his mother from COVID-19, but he instead reignited his career on loan at Fiorentina.
© Reuters
Torreira scored five goals and set up two more in 31 Serie A games to help La Viola qualify for the Europa Conference League, and a £12.5m buyout clause was included in his loan deal.
However, Fiorentina tried to negotiate a lower fee with Arsenal, and Torreira hit out at people for "acting in a bad way" when his preferred return to Italy did not materialise.
Torreira follows the likes of Bernd Leno, Alexandre Lacazette, Matteo Guendouzi and Konstantinos Mavropanos out of the Emirates exit door this summer, and more departures are imminent.
Pablo Mari is expected to be the next name on the chopping block, with Serie A duo Hellas Verona and Monza both believed to have made offers to sign the Spanish centre-back.
Alex Runarsson, Hector Bellerin, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Nicolas Pepe do not appear to have futures at the club under Arteta either, while Nuno Tavares, Arthur Okonkwo, Charlie Patino, Auston Trusty and Folarin Balogun have all left on loan.
Ben Knapton
