Nacho Monreal has confirmed that Lucas Perez has a decent grasp of the English language meaning he won’t have to overcome the standard obstacle to settling in a new country.
The new recruit’s nomadic career has seen him take in stints in the Ukraine and Greece, both destinations where he’s understood to have used English to communicate.
Reflecting on his first few days training with Lucas, Monreal revealed that he’s been very impressed with what he’s seen on the training ground.
“Lucas Perez is a great striker,” he told Arsenal Player. “I know him very well because I follow La Liga quite a lot. I enjoyed watching him play last season. He had a fantastic campaign, scoring 17 league goals, despite not playing for one of the strongest teams.
“He can contribute with many things for Arsenal because he is different to the rest of the players in the squad. He is quick, left-footed and he finds spaces really easily. He is going to help us a lot.
“After having a few training sessions with him, I can say that I am very surprised with him. He is a very good player and he will fit into the group nicely. The language barrier is the first challenge a foreign player must face.
“Fortunately for Lucas, he speaks a decent English and understands everything. The language barrier won’t be an issue for him.”
Monreal also believes Shkodran Mustafi will have no problem adapting to the Premier League and life in England. The Germany international spent three years on the books at Everton when he was younger and speaks Italian, Spanish and English in addition to his mother tongue.
“He [Mustafi] will find it easy to adapt to the club,” Monreal added. “He has already lived abroad, he speaks the language and he knows Mesut Ozil.
“All those elements will lessen the impact of changing environments. Luckily for him, he will feel at home from the very first day.
“Mustafi is a player I like. He is experienced and really tough to beat, which makes him very suitable for the Premier League’s style.
“We really needed to bring a centre back to the club considering Per Mertesacker and Gabriel’s injuries, as well as Calum Chambers’ departure on loan.
“I hope he feels happy here from the very beginning so he can do for us what he does best.”
Could be our Mahrez or Vardy or both combined for the season. NO small wonder Walsh (who moved from Leicester to Everton) was also sniffing him out. 17m is a steal considering the sort of inflated prices we were seeing with a constricted striker market. Wenger has made very considered choices as per usual. Mustafi has Per to work him into the squad but also will have common thread with Granit both having Albanian roots. Perez is from the north of Spain like Nacho, Santi. Both Perez and Mustafi are from La Liga and know each other well. Granit, Perez… Read more »
I like Nacho. The player and the snack.
That is all.
Nacho also does an exceptional impression of a “horse galloping”, FYI: http://youtu.be/s9u2VtA6gJM
To be fair, all four of the players interact with the kids in a great way. But I thought Nacho related to them the best and I really loved that horse galloping trick. Good on you all boys.
And the question to Monreal: ‘Why were you named after a crisp?’ Nacho: Maybe you should ask my mother!’ The kids had a great time with these guys—
Can’t wait to see Perez and Mustafi against Southampton. Sick of this international break!
He makes a good point that Lucas scored 17 goals last year even though his team mates weren’t great, so he might score even more this season with world class players like Ozil and Sanchez around him!
Tbh for him to score 15+ goals in his PL debut season means we should have an Alexis-level player on our hands. Im just sayin, the top scorer had 22.
But then again, when you look at the top 10 last year not one of them is on Alexis-level (bar Agüero). Personally i think 12+ would not be a bad start to his Arsenal career. All depends how much and where he’s going to play aswell i guess.
The last sentence is they key. If he plays 30+ games as center forward we need him to score 20+ goals. If he is only a reserve then 12 goals could be a solid return.
“…and he knows Mesut Ozil”. I think anyone who can honestly say they personally know Mesut Ozil is allright.
Exactly because Mesut will definitely assist him
Looking forward to Saturday. Feels kinda like the first day of the season.
I was thinking the same mate. This specific interlull is the biggest pain in the arse every season.
Why can’t they just fuck it off?!
100-0! Not sure I’ve seen that before. Good comment dude!
‘He is different to the rest of the players in the squad, he is quick’
Zing.
Isn’t Mustafi’s mother tongue Albanian, rather than German?
He’s most probably bilingual.
You may want to read the article once, or read the definition of bilingual in the dictionary.
Does that mean he has two tongues?
Figuratively, yes.
Literally, no we have not signed a serpent man/harbinger of doom/devil-possessed defender. I wouldn’t mind that either though.
You never know, your wish might be granted
Kevin Campbell burst on the scene like a dog with two dicks, I’m sure this is just the updated premier league version
Hahahaha!!!!!!
Getting pumped up already. Can’t wait for saturday to arrive.
Mate you’re a gooner so part of the clan. No need for the foreign bit of your user name. Can I suggest a change to ‘brother gooner’? Respect from Ally Pally.
Hope they both make an outstanding debut against s’ton to boost their moral and confidence
Hopefully this Saturday would be the first day of many great things to come. #coyg
Mustafi is Albanian…. But he’s about the most German looking guy I’ve seen.
This wait for football is driving me nuts….
Anyone think mustafi looks a lot like mertesacker? Not in terms of playing style, but actual physical features. Hes just a bit shorter and a bit bulkier.
…So what you’re saying is he doesn’t look like Mertesacker?
He really does look like the BFG, he’s his younger brother, which I think explains why he is shorter than the big man
And a feckin lot quicker!
yes, your absolutely right, he is the spitting image of Mertesacker, except for his face, his body build and height. It’s spooky
I think he looks like Xabi Alonso.
Nacho’s matter of factly kinda interviews come out so pristine! just like his performances!
“He speaks a decent English”
Lol!
Hopefully Mustafi can at least partially fill the gaping hole in Ozil’s heart left by Flamini’s departure
Yes! Go on Ignacio!!! We love you Ignacio!!!
“After having a few training sessions with him, I can say that I am very surprised with him. He is a very good player and he will fit into the group nicely”. Didn’t he already say he was a great striker? So why is he surprised by him being a “good player”. I’m confused…
I was thinking the very same thing…
He’s probably surprised by how quickly the guy is gelling with the new team. Duh, or maybe it’s a throwaway comment.
But we often forget it takes time to get used to your teammates and their tendencies of playing.
I am a very busy person. I read Arseblog News because it cuts out all the crap. I have no time for throwaway comments.
#notimeforthrowawaycomments
he performed beyond expectations
So the general feel around the dressing room with the Perez signing was probably underwhelming at first, But then he showed up and surprised everyone. Well thank fuck for that 😉
Historically, those who found it hard to grasp English did not do well. Reyes was one, Vera was the next.
Vela?
Vera Bennett – bloody Aussies
I thought Paul Merson did well for us.
I’m not sure Merson will ever be able to grasp English though!
Didn’t see much of him last season(Perez)but having scored 17goals in a club like his formal,I believe he will be our next RVP
Seamlessly blending in already it would seem, who says late signings can’t integrate quickly when they already speak the language, and the football language we’ve been lacking in (Intimidatese). I’m hoping for a bit of a ruthless southampton revenge performance on the weekend. 5-0.
Cech,Bellerin,Nacho,Mustafa,Bosscieny,Xhaka,Santi,Alexis,Ozil,Giroud,Perez.