Pundit Claims Dele Alli ‘Could Not Live’ With This Arsenal Star During NLD

BT Sport pundit Martin Keown claims Tottenham star Dele Alli ‘could not live’ with Lucas Torreira during Arsenal’s thrilling 4-2 win in Sunday’s North London Derby.

Torreira has become a real fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium since making a £26m move from Sampdoria in the summer as his all-action performances alongside Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park have really caught the eye.

The Uruguayan international was in superb form once again on Sunday afternoon as he put in a Man of the Match display to help Arsenal come from 2-1 down at half-time to claim the bragging rights with an impressive 4-2 victory over Spurs.

Torreira covered every blade of grass, closing down the Tottenham players all over the pitch and breaking up play while he also capped an excellent performance with the crucial fourth goal to secure all three points for Arsenal.

The display certainly impressed Keown as the former Arsenal defender and now BT Sport pundit claims it was the best all-round midfield performance he’s seen from an Arsenal player since the days of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva.

Keown says Torreira was ‘fearless’ in his first North London Derby and bossed the Tottenham team to the extent that he felt Dele Alli – who dominated against Chelsea last week – couldn’t cope with the Arsenal star on Sunday.

Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, Keown said:

He may stand just 5ft 5in tall but that was a massive performance from Lucas Torreira. It was the best all-round midfield display I have seen in an Arsenal shirt since Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva used to run the show.

Torreira and Vieira could not be more different in terms of size and stature but their drive and determination is exactly the same.

From the first whistle the Uruguayan controlled the midfield. He was utterly fearless, demanding the ball at all times, always eager to snap into tackles and snuff out danger.

His tireless running gave Arsenal an extra body all over the pitch. You got the sense that if he could, he would happily do everyone else’s job!

Dele Alli was magnificent against Chelsea last week, silencing Jorginho and stopping them from playing. Yesterday he could not live with Torreira. The 22-year-old made the midfield his own.

He reads the game exceptionally and when he gets on the ball, he uses it intelligently to feed the quality at the top of the team. His emphatic goal proves he is a mean finisher, too. In Torreira, Emery has a little dynamo on the pitch who sets the standard.

Torreira has certainly made an encouraging start to life at the Emirates and Arsenal fans would be pleased if he goes on to have only half the success Vieira and Gilberto had during their illustrious careers at the club.

Following Sunday’s win, Arsenal have leapfrogged Tottenham in to fourth place and now sit just one point off third-placed Chelsea so they’ll be hoping to maintain the pressure with another huge win when they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.