Arsenal legend Robert Pires absolutely loves Lucas Torreira, labelling the midfielder as a "warrior".

The Uruguayan, signed from Sampdoria after a strong World Cup, has worked his way into Unai Emery's starting line-up in recent weeks after originally being used as a substitute.

And Pires believes Torreira has all the necessary qualities to thrive in his position.

"I love Lucas Torreira," Pires said. "When you play in his position you need to be a warrior, and he's a warrior.

"He likes to fight a good fight with the other players and technically he's very good. He has good ability with the ball, good vision and now I understand why Arsenal paid a lot of money for him.

"He's a very good player."