Lucas Torreira admits Arsenal wanted him to do a medical in Russia, but he decided against it, preferring to focus on Uruguay until the World Cup was over.

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On Friday, France knocked Uruguay out of the competition at the quarter-final stage, with a 2-0 win. Torreira spoke to reporters after the game, and one asked him about the reports that he had turned down Arsenal’s offer to perform a medical during the tournament.

“Yes, it is true,” Torreira responded. “I didn’t want to think of anything other than the national team. Now that I have time, my future will be clear soon.”

The 22-year-old added that he first plans to travel to Uruguay to visit his family, but after that he’ll resolve the issue of his future.

Normally, this would be cause for concern, but the BBC’s David Ornstein has moved to calm Arsenal fans by confirming that the club have already agreed a deal with Sampdoria and the player himself. All that’s left is the medical and the final signature.

It’ll be comforting to hear that they already have an agreement, because Torreira performed so impressively in Russia. He was Uruguay’s best player against France despite the elimination, and effectively shut down Cristiano Ronaldo in the previous round.

The World Cup goes on, with England facing Sweden and Croatia playing Russia later today. However, for Torreira it’s time for a break, before hopefully confirming his Arsenal move very soon.

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