Arsenal’s new £25 million signing Lucas Torreira has been praised by head coach Unai Emery after joining the club on Tuesday.

The 22 year-old has just returned from representing his country at the World Cup in Russia, where he played in all five matches as they progressed to the quarter-finals.

Lucas shone during his country’s 3-0 victory over Russia and in the 2-1 win over Ronaldo’s Portugal in the second round.

The Gunners landed the Fray Bentos-born defensive midfielder from Serie A side Sampdoria.

Speaking to Arsenal.com Emery said: “In Lucas Torreira, we have signed a young player who is a very bright talent in the game.

“A midfielder with great quality, I have enjoyed watching his performances for Sampdoria in the past two seasons, and we all saw him do very well for Uruguay in the World Cup.

“He is a young player already with good experience, but who wants to keep on growing.

“We welcome Lucas to Arsenal and look forward to him joining us soon for pre-season.”

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