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This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...

According to journalist Alfredo Pedulla, Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira has told his agent to negotiate a move away from the Emirates this summer.

What's the word?

The report claims the Uruguay international is no longer happy in north London and is seeking an exit from the Gunners after just a season at the club.

It adds Serie A giants Milan are currently at the front of the queue to sign him and that the Italian side's new boss, Marco Giampaolo, who worked with Torreira whilst the pair were both at Sampdoria, has thrown his backing behind a move for his former charge.

One step forward, two steps back

When the Gunners announced that they had signed the 23-year-old last summer for a fee in the region of £26m, there was a genuine feeling of excitement that the club had finally found a long-term replacement for Gilberto Silva after a decade-long search.

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They finally had an anchor at the base of midfield capable of putting out the fires in front of the defence and shielding the side from opposition attacks.

Indeed, in his debut season the pint-sized Uruguayan took to the hustle and bustle of Premier League football like a duck to water and and averaged almost two tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game.

His energy and industry have been infectious to both his teammates and fans alike, and after starring performances against both Tottenham and Huddersfield last December, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was left in awe.

The Manchester United legend said: "I've been massively impressed. His impact upon that team is huge. With this Arsenal player over this three, four, five, six years that they've needed you've always got this picture of Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira in your mind - a strong presence in midfield. He's diminutive, not very big but then he's tenacious. He's a massive upgrade on where they've been but most of all the impact he's having on Arsenal's mentality is huge."

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Despite admitting in an interview recently that he had struggled to adjust to the lifestyle and weather in England, Torreira did give Gunners fans hope that he could eventually get used to it. Having finally signed a holding midfielder worthy of the name, Emery's side simply cannot go backwards and let Torreira go and must resist the player's own reported wishes to leave.

Given it took a decade to replace Gilberto, it's not ridiculous to think losing their current best midfield enforcer could set them back years once again.