It’s been an interesting 24 hours for Lucas Perez.
Yesterday morning an Italian publication linked him with AC Milan, in the afternoon his agent denied that he’d been the source of the rumour and by the evening the Spaniard was putting Arsenal ahead as they beat Sutton United 2-0 and earning praise from his boss.
Today, Lucas’ agent has further underlined the striker’s commitment to life at the Emirates by telling the Daily Mail that his client wants to succeed as a Gunner.
“Lucas has a contract with Arsenal,” said representative Rodrigo Fernandez Lovelle. “He wants to succeed there and as any professional wants to play.
“When one does not play (one) is not happy, but we knew this is difficult. (He has a) long contract.”
Lucas was also quick to set the record straight when he spoke to Spanish radio station Cadena Cope following last night’s win.
“Arsenal are a big team and the competition for places is big. Everyone wants to play and it’s normal. Today I am happy because I played and scored a goal … and now I need to continue like this to convince the boss to trust more on me.
“Obviously everyone expects to play more. After I scored the hat-trick (against Basel in the Champions League) the boss did not count much with me. But that also means that teammates are very good. The team have not had a bad streak of losing three or four matches in a row… The competition is big and you have to wait for your moment to make the most of the opportunity when it arrives.”
Lucas also touched on the mood of Arsene Wenger following last week’s drubbing in Munich.
“It’s normal that after the defeat to Bayern there were criticisms. At the moment he does not transmit us the idea that he is going to leave, but we do not know what’s going on in his mind. He is very excited about this season. He is calm. He has been here for a long time and has a lot of experience. He will know what is best for the club and for him.
“In the Champions (League) we have a very complicated game. Bayern are one of the best teams in the world and after conceding five goals it will be very difficult. But we will fight to try to win the match at home.”
The simple fact is he has never let us down. Measuring impact on a game-by-game ratio, he’s arguably Player of the Season, and deserves to be starting regularly.
Everyone loves Perez but Player of the Season?
That’s why I said ‘arguably.’
Perez and Giroud are players of the year in the efficiency category.
I still think we have to give it to Alexis based on stats, even if he can be a bit of a selfish player from time to time.
That is basically non-sensical. He’s never let us down because he’s only played in absolute bankers, bar Bournemouth. He’s a great player but please, let’s not do what we did with Joel Campbell again.
Don’t recall Joel Campbell ever scoring a CL hat trick. Perez is a far superior player. Anyone with eyes can see that.
CL hattrick. Against BASEL. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a good team but c’mon man! You’re talking as if he’d have scored a hattrick against Bayern too. Sorry, I’m not giving you player of the season off the back of that. He’s been good/great for us when he’s played, he should have played more (and I’d like to see him up front rather than wide personally) but that’s as far as you can go. It’s Joel Campbell syndrome all over again; plays well against powderpuff teams and misses the big games. Untainted with the ignominy of defeat, they look a… Read more »
Basel away was the one fixture outside the PSG ones that I thought could be a potential banana skin and the man scored a hat trick so they weren’t all absolute bankers.
Also @vicksonthechest, I believe the player of the season comment was taking into account ratio of minutes to goals/assists/effective play.
If we are playing this game then Niles is my Player of the Season taking into account swag per minute on the pitch.
Also, where Arsenal are concerned, there are no such thing as ‘bankers.’
Did you spell that correctly?
There is a few on the board!
I trust you Lucas, now take me to your father’s octopus stand and make me a Spanish seafood dinner.
No. No. No. “But we will fight to try to win the match at home.”
I just cannot raise my hopes up again. It hurts, arsenal, it hurts
I’m putting 50 quid on a 3-0 win.
Is Rosicky available?
Got exactly that bet…
I just can’t wait for that “honourable” CL exit, when we spank Bayern 3-0 at home.
I’m going 4-1, their 1 coming from the last kick of the game (Robben dive and pen perhaps)
As a Mexican I can say that I really am traumatized by Robben’s dives haha The world cup comes to mind…
So having convinced everyone in the stadium and everyone watching on tv, he just has to convince the manager……
yes. how many Premier League teams have you managed? When you have managed as many as Le Prof, then you cant talk!
How dare you question his decisions from your armchair. Sitting there, spending your hard earned cash on supporting your team! What makes you think you have a say?
Now show him respect, because he shows us so much every weekend!
*Please note my sarcasm*
You are an upgrade on Spinner, but barely.
Spinner is a German colloquial term for crazy person. Just saying
who?
Great Player, great mentality. This agent saga aside, he has never done anything to out anybody in doubt, about either his credentials or professionalism.
Comment: Only Wenger knows what he’s thinking by keeping Lucas out of the starting line-ups. I thought he would have a re-think after the Bournemouth game, but he never see what others sees. He kept doing the same thing but expects different results.
Wenger surely doesn’t want to hamper Iwobi’s development. That’s the way Wenger operates. Iwobi will always be preferred.
I don’t think it (Perez’s lack of playing time) had anything to do any deficiency that Wenger “saw” in training. Rather it was all about Arsene’s blind adherence to ‘hierarchy’ and an unequivocal loyalty to longer-serving players like Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud. Whether it’s ball retention (better than Giroud), making smart runs (better than Theo), passing (better than Iwobi) or finishing (best in the squad), Lucas Perez represents the complete package, and has deserved to play ever since he joins. Similarly, I believe our PL season came unhinged not when Mustafi pulled his hamstring against Stoke, but rather when… Read more »
How can this be dowvnvoted?? It’s spot on.
Must be given more playing time.
Love this guy. Smart, tenacious and has been reliable and more every time he plays. Really hoping that he is used more often in league matches. Could be a key player for us moving forward.
I fail to see what more he needs to do to convince arsene. It’s as if Arsene just takes against some players, and they never seem to get a fair crack of the whip. I’m never sure whether Pod was given the chances his
Rubbish. The only reason Theo gets the nod ahead of Ox is because he has done a shade better (or less worse) than Ox. I agree with others who say Perez is no Campbell; Perez is way more canny. I always thought more than Welbeck he was a failsafe in case Alexis got knackered. For me a forward (say in the style of David Villa), it remains to be seen if fits tactically on the right wing with this shaky midfield of ours… but he SHOULD get a few games to make his case. No question.
I’d like to see the boss give him a sustained run out in place of Theo.
He looks dangerous everytime he’s been offered a chance.
I don’t get why wenger continuously plays iwobi and leaves Perez or Ox on the bench?! I can’t remember iwobi playing well for a long time! Please do us a favour and let a new man take over in the summer Arsene!!!
Go on Arsene, trust on him and count with him. I’ll even count with both of you.
Uno, dos, tres…
…catorce
No.
Historically it takes time for players to get used to the premier league so it makes sense to ease him in slowly but Arsene must have been impressed with lucas’ performances & his comments last night show that he’s happy with him.
Going forward I’m confident he’ll use lucas more if he continues playing well.
Or, if others in the starting line up continue to twaddle their thumbs… Wenger has got to be as bored of the way the team is playing these days as the rest of us.
Most of the people who are complaining that he gets too less game time are the same people who were fuming that we have signed him instead of a “quality forward”. Wenger sees him on a daily basis and can assess his qualities bettter than anyone of us. He will have his reasons why he haven’t played him that much. One if the reasons surely is that he rates Iwobi very highly and tries to give him game time whenever possible to ensure he develops as quickly as possible.
Please…Wenger has no real reason for benching him. He should be starting more and that is a fact. Iwobi has been off form yet Wenger keeps running him go the ground. Theo as well. I really Hope lucas leaves. This is getting ridiculous
You hope Lucas leaves?? WTF?
It is good that Iwobi gets game time, but why paid 20mil to get an off the rack player and let him sit on the bench? Arsene has an MBA degree, he should know how the economic works. How many goals has Iwobi scored vs Perez? Arsenal is not a football academy FFS!
Also Iwobi helps keep the ball ticking when teams sit back. He is a good escape valve in the way he gives others ahead of him a second or two to make a run, but that is also his downfall, when we need incisive pass, he overplays/overthinks it. But he is gold. He just needs to grow in confidence a bit.
I just wonder why he is not playing more regularly. He scored a hat-trick and then he wasn’t even on the bench? I think he is by far our best finisher, which we desperately need. From what I saw yesterday, he is intelligent, he knows when to dash and when to turn, unlike someone who just scored his 100th goal. We need someone like that against some stubborn defences.
“Lucas has a contract with Arsenal,”
When you start your comment like this, it means the things are not good.
He reminds me of Carlos Vela. A lot more mature though.
Scoring goals is the easy part! Convincing wenger?…well good luck with that lucas!
Must have too high of a backlift or something.
His left foot sure seems cultured to me.
More crisis mongering from the media. Lucas is going nowhere. He (and I have stated I like him to ) needs to play more because he brings composure and creativity and is conversant gambling in the box. But we also know he needed to get up to pace earlier in season and when he had some opportunity had been beset by minor injuries/niggles. I think he can have a very constructive role for us to end of season now. I find his play more cunning than Walcott’s which may help Alexis should he take up the other flank as it… Read more »
Lucas will get a lot more starts next year after Alexis leaves.
Wenger not really known for his rotation strategies unfortunately
From a skill, experience and tactical level, Lucas is a by far the most superior player in our team. If you guys haven’t watched his goals and assists for Deportivo for last season, I would highly recommend it. I don’t think we are even aware what kind of asset we poses!
Love the guy, and I think he’s a very talented and canny player. Love the way he doesn’t celebrate his goals, like that’s his job so what’s the big deal. I really hope Arsene gives him the chance that he deserves.