Lucas Torreira has left the club on loan to join Italian side Fiorentina on loan until the end of the season. Arsenal will receive a £1.2m loan fee and have inserted a clause to make the deal permanent, should Fiorentina wish to, for £12.85m.

This is Torreria’s second loan in as many years, having spent last season on loan at eventual La Liga champions Atlético Madrid. The Uruguayan didn’t have quite the impact that many would have hoped for, however, Torreira was still a useful cog in the machine for Diego Simeone’s team.

Since joining Arsenal, Torreira has been a fan favourite, scoring against Tottenham in the North London Derby and general tenacity in midfield, showed just how good he was under Unai Emery.

However, following Aaron Ramsey’s departure, Torreira was used in a more attacking role that ill-suited him, which meant that he slowly lost confidence and was eventually dropped.

Torreira has struggled for game time under Mikel Arteta, who doesn’t see him as part of his plans for the new season. For his part and to his credit, Torreira was willing to remain at the club and fight for his place, but Arteta’s mind is made up.

Torreira’s time in England has also been marred by constant references to feeling homesick and wanting to leave the country. While not entirely unexpected, given the propensity for players to miss their favourited countries and for England’s famously bi-polar weather system, Torreira and his agent, Pablo Bentancur’s constant references to Torreira wishing to leave the club has not gone unnoticed by Arsenal fans.

Fans were also quick to notice that not only had Torreira reported back late for training (an incorrect assessment, as Torreira had been legally required to quarantine in Spain for 10 days before returning to the UK), but also that Torreira had been visiting a theme park with his family during Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford on the opening day of the Premier League season.

Fiorentina were previously interested in Torreira when his former coach Marco Giampolo was at the club and the club’s scouting department seem to have kept their interest in the player up.

It remains to be seen just what Torreira will bring to Fiorentina or how he will develop when there, however, Arsenal will be hoping it’s enough to entice him away from the club for good as they look to clear the decks of deadwood players.