Arsenal loanee Lucas Torreira made an encouraging debut for Atletico Madrid on Saturday, as they won 2-0 away to Celta Vigo.

Torreira made his debut for Atletico on Saturday, following his loan move to the Spanish club this summer. He started against Celta Vigo and played the full match as his new team won 2-0.

Atletico wrote on their website that the player “performed at a high level”, and there weren’t many viewers who disagreed. The midfielder completed 90% of his passes, blocked two shots and won four of seven duels, as well as making five interceptions.

It was a classic Torreira performance in that sense, winning the ball back and playing safe in possession. New Atletico teammate and fellow Uruguayan Jose Gimenez posted on his Instagram story that it was a “great debut” for the player.

This is all good news for Arsenal, of course. Torreira still has a contract until 2023 with the Gunners when his loan deal ends.  Regardless of what happens after that, Arsenal’s position is stronger if he has a good year.

Either they’ll look to sell him, in which case they want his value as high as possible, or they’ll keep him, in which case they want him playing well. So this is a positive start.