Shkodran Mustafi believes Lucas Perez can be a hit for Arsenal having experienced playing against the Spaniard in clashes between Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna.
Lucas demonstrated his quality with a goal at both the Mestalla and Riazor as the two sides twice drew 1-1 last season; performances that prove to Mustafi that Arsene Wenger has signed a real team player.
“He is uncomfortable to play against,” Mustafi told Arsenal Player. “He’s a good striker – he has everything a striker needs.
“He’s someone you can play well with. He doesn’t just run around and wait for someone to give him a pass to score a goal. He works a lot for the team as well and he creates chances.
“He’s in the right place at the right time, as he showed last year in La Liga. I played there for two years and I know it’s not that easy to score many goals in La Liga, because you have great defenders there as well.
“I think he’s going to help the team a lot.”
The two summer signings could both make their debut against Southampton this weekend in a fixture that has proved ripe for great Gunners strikers of yesteryear to make an instant impact.
The likes of Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry all got off the mark against the Saints…so no pressure Lucas.
Let’s hope to see them both this weekend. Come on!
Physioroom suggests Mustafi has a minor ankle problem and won’t be available for this weekend.
No, it doesn’t.
Can’t wait for this Arsenal side to click. We should be playing some tasty football. Exciting times ahead!
If he turns out to be as good as the talk around him from the club has been recently, then I’d really like to see Perez as our first choice striker this season. This isn’t me knocking Giroud (can’t stand the unjust stick he sometimes gets), but I do think the quality of football Wenger’s always liked to play has suffered a little over the last few seasons with Giroud as first choice up front. Those games over the past couple of years where we’ve been short on ideas and try to constantly make wall passes off Giroud to no… Read more »
It will be interesting to see what we do end up doing in attack.
Wenger was saying he fancied Alexis in cf before he signed Lucas. I’m hoping that’s what we end up with.
With Theo and Lucas we would have three players with lots of pace who can play in any of the three positions. Seems like maybe that is the idea.
Interesting times ahead.. I like our purchases i think they are better than many understand.
Dare i start hoping again??
Seen him a few times { I live in Spain} the guy is super passionate and clinical, think he’ll do well for us.COYG
And he got thumbed-down twice! You have to wonder if some folks really understand what it means to thumb down a comment. Or wait a minute, it could be rival fans infiltrating Arseblog. Hahahaha. Losers!!!
Can see Vardy watching closey too but with different hopes in heart and head.
Let’s hope so. Perez for me is the most important signing this season as we needed goals last season. I would be more than happy if he can get 15-17 goals or even 20 if he’ll be a bona-fide first choice.
Mustafi signing arguably more important. Pairing him with Koscielny will enable us to play with a high line
That xhaka lads not bad either… How bout that eh, signing good players in positions of need for once.
ONLY gripe I have is that we’ve wasted the first two games of the season. Liverpool were ripe for the taking and as well as Leicester played last year, are not the same beast this season.
Three points this weekend and a manc draw closes the gap nicely
Only on occasions when we need to play high line. We just need to be flexible and know when not. Like Vardy, Lucas’s abilities are best appreciated in a counter-attacking situation, and you can’t do that if you are playing high line defense often, because it means the opposition defense is always sat back.
Well it would look very good if he said Perez was shit would it?
Damn that predictive text, I think you meant ‘bell-ender’
Lord bendtner is better tham messi. he is going to win the balondor at forrest.
He’s not just “better” than Messi, TGSTEL would knock the collective skills of Puskas, Pele, Eusebio, Maradonna and Cryuff into a cocked hat and then juggle it into the net, through a combined defence of Moore, Beckenbauer, Adams, Hansen, Goikoetxea (youtube reel him, kids!), Baresi, Costacurta and Rijkaard.
Oh, and in goal there’d be a bus. Driven by Mourinho. But TGSTEL would still score.
And to think that we didn’t re-sign him… I’m expecting some raw anger on display at the Southampton game if we’re not 3-0 up after 12 minutes.
I think the balandor is the symbol of authority in ancient Nordic tribes.
no no no, Balandor is in Wales, you wally!
Lord Bendtner
CEO and Co founder of Football
Only award that tgsel will be up for is the Balloon D’or”
Let’s hope he starts up front with Sanchez and Walcott either side of him. Giroud was awful last night and should be used as a plan b.
I expect it’ll be a bit like early last season (Theo and Ollie) where one starts and the other finishes, so the opposition have to deal with 2 very different styles.
However shit Giroud was last night, the way he played in that game obviously has no bearing on whether he’s used as a Plan A or Plan B.
Walcott and Sanchez have both played really well alongside Giroud in the past.
I have absolutely no idea what our starting lineup will be and that is excellent.
So i’ll start Perez in my fantasy team right away. I know he’ll score 2 goals and give an assist.
I have him in mine already
I was thinking of this as well, but it would mean I would have to take out one of either Sanchez, Ozil or Cazorla! Help!
Mustafi seems like a good header of the ball, could score a few from setpieces then. Lucas looks like a hardworking type who can help to defend.
Off topic but… we play Forest in the cup on the 20th and have no chance.
They have just signed TGSTEL. How can Mustafi and Perez be expected to compete?
Can’t see Wenger starting Lucas right out of the gate in his first PL game. But hopefully he comes in the second half and has a positive impact.
Yes he can, suprise the opostion when they are preparing for giroud.
Implement Perez.
Comment: Yeah, Mustafi knows him well. Looked very angry when he scored against them last season
Mustafi told Arsenal player in a interview staged by our marketing/PR department. It’s not like he is going to say, Perez? Nah, that guy is bang average mate, You can hear it from Lucas himself if you wish, I still have him right here in my pocket since training last night. 😉 See
Let’s just see for ourselves this season what he can bring to the table.
sounds good but I do wonder about the not easy to score in La Liga comment given the goals per season difference between top pl strikers and top La Liga strikers, maybe im just overly analytical
Well he meant except barca and real, atletiko is a top team and always find dificult to score, when you have msn or ronaldo bale and benzema is easy.
I’m so excited to see Giroud match fit and Lucas ready to show what he can do. I hope we’ll see them combine well this season, as well as compete passionately to be the lone striker if that’s the plan Arsene is going for.
The press will write a different narrative but Wenger made some very wise decisions this summer. 1) Granit. With Flamini and Arteta departed, he added quality to bolster the midfield. This was done early and at 35m (contrast 30m for Sissoko by a certain club deadline day). It allows us another option to Coquelin/Santi. and also the ability to play BOTH Coquelin and Granit if need be to shut shop better. 2) Mustafi. Again how this is considered a panic buy is beyond me. Here we have a player who came in for 35m who has world cup/Euro experience (and… Read more »
Synergy. Further to Santori’s excellent transfer summary, I would add the question of Granit’s most outstanding skill – demonstrated in last season’s Borussia performances, Swiss play at Euro 2016 and Gunners v Watford – and that’s his accuracy with long passes quickly out of defence. That’s why, I believe, Arsene bid for Vardy…..his many goals often emanating from long accurate passes out of Leicester’s deep defence – with opposition comimitted to attack and defence stretched. So, if you don’t get Vardy, find someone else who’s also very quick and effective running on to the “over the top” pass behind the… Read more »
I think he will be great in the chaps league but the test will be against the big teams will he get the space he needs will he find the space, I think his a great signing not world class yet if we are honest but much much better than vardy, I hope this is our year. Defo feeling proud to be a goooner again….but why does he ruin my year between June and the last day in August every year lol
ozil is a real gunner, a real king of kings of assits