Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira has joined Italian outfit Fiorentina on loan, the Serie A club announced on Wednesday. The midfielder arrived for his medical on Tuesday and has agreed an initial loan switch. Torreira, who joined Arsenal from Sampdoria in 2018, had an impressive debut season in north London where he played 50 times in all competitions, but the 25-year-old has since found limited playing time at the Premier League club. He spent last season on loan at Atletico Madrid where he made 19 appearances in its La Liga title-winning campaign.

Fiorentina said that it signed the Uruguay international with an option to buy him for a fee reported by British and Italian media to be about 15 million euros ($17.63 million). The club lost its opening Serie A game at AS Roma over the weekend and hosts Torino on Saturday. The Uruguay international, who was currently not in Mikel Arteta’s plans, decided on a return to Italy having joined Arsenal from Sampdoria in 2018. Eintracht Frankfurt also made an offer for the 25-year-old earlier in the transfer window.

Torreira will wear the No 18 shirt for Fiorentina, who finished 13th in the Italian top-flight last season and began their 2021/22 campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Roma. He has made 89 appearances for the Gunners and scored four goals. The midfielder’s contract at the Emirates Stadium expires in the summer of 2023. The loan switch to Florence follows his successful 2020/21 campaign where Torreira helped Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid to the La Liga title, making 26 appearances during his time in the Spanish capital.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s hat-trick helped Arsenal to a welcome first win of the season as they beat a young West Bromwich Albion side to reach the Carabao Cup third round. Aubameyang marked his first start of the season with two first-half tap-ins and a curling finish after the break. He also acrobatically set up Nicolas Pepe for the third, with Bukayo Saka slotting in the Gunners’ fourth. Alexandre Lacazette came off the bench to fire in his side’s sixth.

The win could have been even bigger too, with Martin Odegaard hitting the outside of the post from a tight angle and Pepe striking the bar with a chip West Brom fielded six debutants, five of them teenagers, but showed spirit right to the end on what was a difficult night for them. The Baggies, who have made a superb start to this season under new boss Valerian Ismael, pressed high, got the ball forward quickly and would have taken an early lead had goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, on his Arsenal debut, not pushed Tom Fellows’ whipped shot aside.

Even with the tie clearly decided they continued to carve out chances, with Taylor Gardner-Hickman twice denied by Ramsdale in the second half. Ultimately, though, Arsenal – who now face AFC Wimbledon – were a class above, with the ruthless Aubameyang looking sharp after recovering from coronavirus. He could hardly miss in scoring both of his first two goals, firstly following up Saka’s saved shot to slot in before turning the ball in again after Pepe had hit the post. His third was much harder to execute, but he did so with aplomb, curling in from 18 yards after cutting into the box.