Unai Emery Praises New Signing Lucas Torreira Following Impressive Showing Against Newcastle

Arsenal boss Unai Emery has praised Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torreira for his second half performance against Newcastle, which helped the Gunners secure a 2-1 win against Newcastle.

Torreira played a crucial role in Uruguay's World Cup campaign, which saw the South American side make it all the way to the quarter-finals, before being defeated by eventual champions France. His showing in the World Cup proved to Arsenal that he was the right man to strengthen their midfield, and spent £26m to bring the 22-year-old to the Emirates.

Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages

However, since signing for the North London club, Torreira has spent most of his time on the bench, much to the frustration of many Arsenal fans. Emery instead opted to play a defensive midfield partnership of Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi.

But, following his impressive display against Cardiff City and Newcastle, Torreira is finally getting some love from the Arsenal boss, and should soon find himself starting regularly for the three-time Premier League champions.

Alex Livesey/GettyImages

According to the official Arsenal website, Emery praised new signing Torreira in his post-match press conference. The new Arsenal boss said: ''I want to give every player confidence.

''I am very happy with Matteo and also very happy with Lucas. But maybe in the second half we needed a little more balance on the pitch with the positioning. Lucas gives us this balance.''

James Williamson - AMA/GettyImages

Arsenal fans will be hoping this means Torreira will be given more of a chance in the first team. The Gunners had a tough start to the season, losing their first two matches. However, since then they have gone on a run of three consecutive wins and sit in seventh , level on points with arch-rivals Tottenham.