Arsene Wenger has finally moved to add a striker to the ranks to provide competition for Olivier Giroud with the £17.1 million signing of Spanish striker Lucas Perez on a four-year deal, the club has announced.
Perez, who was linked with Barcelona earlier in this window, comes off the back of the best season of his career to date as the 27-year-old scored 19 goals and created 12 assists for Deportivo in 39 games in all competitions last season. He’s kicked off this season in fine form too, playing for Depor in their season opener and scoring a last minute penalty won by the man himself having set up an equaliser too.
Starting his professional career with Atlético Madrid’s C team before moving to Rayo Vallecano, Perez had a mixed record with Karpaty Lyiv in Ukraine and PAOK in Greece before returning to Spain to join his boyhood club. With a total of the transfer fees paid for the forward to date only adding up to less than £2 million, his improvement over the past two seasons has been remarkable.
Strong and powerful, Lucas has been a late bloomer and shown all of the qualities necessary to excel in the Premier League. With his dad owning an octopus stall in a London market, and with experience of moving country having played in Spain, Greece and Ukraine to date, there is every chance that he can settle in quickly and make an immediate impact.
Normally deployed centrally as a number nine or on the right of attack, Lucas likes to cut back onto his left foot and take a shot at goal when out wide. Providing competition for the likes of Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott will be a massive bonus for the side at a relatively cheap price in the current market.
It’s clear that the Spaniard lacks the star quality that many Gunners fans had been hoping for throughout the summer, with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette linked, but any forward who can score 17 league goals in a side that finishes just four points clear of relegation in one of Europe’s best leagues should be taken seriously.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the news:
Seemingly delighted with their new man, Arsenal fans were optimistic of what was to come…
https://twitter.com/DeejayDt/status/770624390769827840
https://twitter.com/AugustBjerken/status/770657063097733120
https://twitter.com/thefinesseshot/status/770636085760110593
https://twitter.com/lita_curran/status/770622546236608512
https://twitter.com/OneArsenal2014/status/770617068500635649
https://twitter.com/GunnerFaithful/status/770616412658216962
Supporters were quick to notice the size of the fee in comparison to others this summer…
A slightly tongue-in-cheek view was taken by supporters of all clubs…
https://twitter.com/saynab_m10/status/770616552961871872
As he is rather prone to doing, Piers Morgan added his two cents to an Arsenal story…
Featured Image: All rights reserved by Jose Ignacio Unanue.