Comparing Arsenal’s £27m star to his counterparts in Chelsea and other clubs – Stats reveal Emery has secured the best player out of the lot

Statistical comparison of Lucas Torreira, Fabinho and Jorginho

The summer transfer window enriched the Premier League with some immensely talented players. However, the window will be best remembered for the emergence of some top quality defensive midfielders, all of whom have hit the ground running at their respective clubs.

While the managerial change at Chelsea and Arsenal prompted the clubs to sign Jorginho and Lucas Torreira to comply with their respective philosophies, Jurgen Klopp sought to bolster his midfield with the acquisition of Fabinho as a part of his summer spending spree.

Jorginho, Fabinho and Torreira have all been very impressive and have been the driving forces behind the campaigns of their respective clubs. As the clubs get ready to invest once again in the winter transfer window, let us get a deeper insight into the performances of these three players in the Premier League.

Jorginho, who was signed from Napoli in the summer for a fee of £57 million, reunited with his former manager Maurizio Sarri and has established himself as one of the regular starters for the Blues. The Italian maestro has been the heartbeat of the midfield, acting as the pivotal point or Sarri’s possession-based patient build-up play. He has done an excellent job at the centre of the park, dictating the tempo of the game with his flawless passing and immaculate distribution.

The Italian has averaged 94.8 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 90.5, including 2.4 successful long balls per game. Those numbers are really flattering but a large part of it is down to Chelsea’s possession-based football in the midfield.

However, Jorginho has found it tough to cope with the pace and dynamic nature of the Premier League. A deeper insight into his statistics shows that he has not had much of an impact defensively. In fact, most of his passes have been short and square, just moving the ball around without much penetration.

Jorginho has been exposed defensively in the games involving fast and agile opposition. The Italian has a poor tackling success rate, having completed only 34 of his attempted 62 tackles and has been dribbled past 28 times, numbers which are not at all impressive.

Now, let us evaluate the performances of Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira. Torreira, who was signed from Sampdoria for a measly £27 million in the summer, has been a revelation for the Gunners this season. In fact, it would be fair to label him as a massive bargain going by the impact that he has had on the proceedings.

As compared to Jorginho, the Uruguayan has been equally impressive with his passing and distribution and has emerged as a perfect fit for Emery’s pressing philosophy in the midfield. Not only has he switched the play with his wonderful range of passing but has also made life difficult for the opposition with his tenacity and tireless running.

Torreira has averaged 52.5 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 89.4, which is as good as Jorginho. However, he edges ahead in the race in terms of goal and assists. The 22-year-old has 2 goals and 2 assists to his name as compared to Jorginho who has only a single goal so far. Strikes from central midfielders are crucial and Torreira has been more influential in the attacking third.

Another thing that should be discussed here is Torreira’s defensive contribution. He has successfully completed 42 of his attempted 56 tackles and has been dribbled past only 14 times, stats which show that he has outplayed Jorginho in that aspect. Furthermore, the Uruguayan has 28 interceptions to his name as compared to Jorginho’s 22. To sum it up, Torreira has been a more dynamic asset to Arsenal than Jorginho has been to Chelsea.

Now, let us turn our attention to the third player on the list, Liverpool’s £43.7 million signing from Monaco in the summer- Fabinho.

Something that should be mentioned here is that Fabinho has made only 12 appearances for Liverpool in the Premier League. He took his time to acclimatise to the style of play prevalent in England and had to wait for more than a month to make his debut. However, he has established himself as one of the familiar faces on Klopp’s team sheet over the last couple of months.

The Brazilian has a lower pass success rate than Jorginho and Torreira, averaging 48.1 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 83. While a part of it is down to his period of acclimatisation, another factor involved in that is Liverpool’s progressive and attacking style of play which necessitates the players to take that element of risk.

As opposed to Jorginho, Fabinho’s passing has been more purposeful and incisive. He has not only kept the ball ticking but has also contributed to the attacking play up front with subtle runs behind the back line, accumulating a goal and 2 assists from 12 appearances.

He was a bit sluggish in his earlier days but he has improved significantly and has matched the other two players in terms of his defensive contribution.

Fabinho has successfully completed 24 of his attempted 32 tackles in the Premier League but has already been dribbled past 11 times in 12 games. These figures show that he has been pretty much precise with his challenges but has struggled to cope with the pace of the game at times. He has done better than Jorginho but he still needs to work on his agility and reactions if he is to match Torreira.

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Quite clearly, Lucas Torreira has been the pick of the new bunch of defensive midfielders that arrived in the summer. Manchester City’s Fernandinho and Everton’s Idrissa Gana Gueye has been equally effective but Torreira continues to be a bargain for Arsenal.