Mikel Arteta’s post match press conference this evening was a masterclass in avoiding most of his questions, but he didn’t really try to deny anything either.
Things are looking good at The Emirates just now and a win against Leicester tonight continued their 100% start to the season, while you also get the impression that Arteta cannot wait for the transfer market to close.
He was asked the same question about Mesut Ozil’s future multiple times and didn’t offer much hope about his future, while he said even less about Lucas Torreira:
For any Arsenal fans looking for an update on Lucas Torreira… This is probably manager speak for he's likely to leave? pic.twitter.com/sLZxpA6XeZ
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) September 23, 2020
The Uruguayan hasn’t featured a lot under Arteta and this would’ve been a good chance to see what he could do against Premier League opposition, but his absence does suggest that he’s probably on his way out.
Earlier reports suggested that Torreira had agreed personal terms with Atletico but they hadn’t agreed a deal with Arsenal, so you can understand that Arteta wouldn’t want to comment while things are up in the air.
It’s also worth noting that Arteta doesn’t make any comments about wanting to keep the midfielder, so an exit still looks like the most likely outcome just now.