Torreira recalls "madness" of Arsenal dressing room as he cuts ties with club

Lucas Torreira has opened up on the "madness" of the Arenal dressing room as he was left starstruck sitting next to the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubamyang when he first joined the club.

The Uruguayan signed for the Gunners from Sampdoria in the summer of 2018 in a deal worth £26million.

Torreira initially impressed under Unai Emery, but barely featured under his successor Mikel Arteta, which led to several loan spells away from the Emirates.

The 26-year-old won the La Liga title with Atletico Madrid last season but was on the fringes of Diego Simeone's side.

Torreira then joined Fiorentina on a season-long loan in the summer and seems to have found a home with Vincenzo Italiano's men.

The midfielder doesn't appear to have a future at Arsenal with the Serie A club holding an option to buy the player for £12.8m at the end of the season.

There were reports that Arteta's men were willing to waive that fee in talks for Dusan Vlahovic, using Torreira as a makeweight, before the Serbian snubbed the Gunners in favour of Juventus.

Torreira has now written a letter to Italian news outlet Cronache Di Spogliatoio, and his words also suggest his time is up at Arsenal.

Torreira has fond memories of his time with Arsenal, however, as he expressed his gratitude for being able to share a dressing room with household names like Ozil, Aubmaeyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

He also spoke of how exciting it was for him to find out that his hometown Fray Bentos shares the name of a popular pie brand that is sold in the UK.

"Every time I go to the national team, I try to make the most of my proximity to certain champions," wrote Torreira.

"I have been lucky enough to meet many of them. At Arsenal, the first year, I didn't speak English, but some in the team spoke Italian, like Sokratis, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

"In the dressing room, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette sat next to me. Madness. You can imagine: me drinking mate, and them next to me. Here we are, in London. Remember when I told you about Fray Bentos meat? I didn't leave the house much, I had a person who often brought me shopping.

"One day, I go to the supermarket, and browsing the shelves, I see a label with the name of my city: 'Made in Fray Bentos'. Just like me. A village of 25,000 inhabitants in the London aisles. It was thrilling. It was a tin, yes, but it was exciting."