Personally I thought that the Spanish striker Lucas Perez got a bum deal from Arsene Wenger when he refused to play him as a centre-forward, even when Oli Giroud and Danny Welbeck were both out injured two years ago, preferring instead to convert Alexis Sanchez to our Number Nine, and he rarely gave him any chances during the whole of his season with us.
So it was no surprise that Perez couldn’t wait to get back to Spain to start playing again, in fact he got a plane the same night that we won the FA Cup, and I am sure if Wenger was still here then Lucas wouldn’t have even bothered turning up for pre-season.
But now it certainly looks like Unai Emery has told Lucas Perez that he will be staying with us for the coming season, as Perez has changed his Twitter profile back to an all Arsenal theme….
Perez has fully changed his layout back to Arsenal. Definitely think he’s planning to stick around this season. pic.twitter.com/PSVAn4yXe6
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) July 7, 2018
Back to work! ??♂️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/NyZZAnjRer
— Lucas Pérez (@LP10oficial) July 7, 2018
I’m wondering if Sam P was right when he wrote a few days ago that Perez could be the new left-winger we are all looking for…..
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I have to admit that I wasn’t a fan of Perez until (I think) Ozziegunner asked me to look at his stats.
Really pleased that he is going to be given the opportunity to work with the new manager.
It could save us a lot of money and, more importantly, the man himself will want to prove a point to the ex manager.
Pre season games should give us an idea if it could work out.
I may be late with this, but just read that the little Uruguayan terrior has confirmed his transfer to Arsenal.
Says it was an opportunity he could not turn down and will sign after completing his medical.
Well done to the new manager and his team… brilliant signing and welcome to the Arsenal!!
Can’t wait to see him let loose against Christian Eriksen!!!!
Ken, it was me; it’s nice to be remembered! I support your comments above regarding the welcome to Lucas Torreira; at last a specialist DM.
Given Unai Emery’s knowledge of Lucas Perez from managing Sevilla and Valencia, I trust him to get the best out of Perez.
Ozziegunner, nice to be taught something!!!
Worth a gamble as a back up plan because Welbz could be out the door along with Joel Campbell. We should still be looking at another Winger to add to our frontline…
If he comes good then why not, showed glimpses then Wenger ruined his confidence! Emery will get the best outta him & both being Spanish helps.
Yeah I agree-Perez is more of a goal threat than Welbeck and would be good cover for Lacazette and Aubamayang as a Striker.I just don’t get this winger nonsense.Why play a striker out wide just to get him in the team.Th14 was a striker who found his space out wide.Overmars was a winger.There is a difference.
Width is vital but not at the expense of playing strikers out there or god forbid Mesut Ozil.
I was completely baffled by this signing at the time, and not happy, but Perez made me eat my words. Every time he played (which was wasn’t often), he did something of note. Goals, assists, or just general quality in the final third, yet every week, it was Walcott! To be fair, Walcott did score a fair few goals that season, but still had the ability to completely disappear in games. Perez had way more technical quality than the likes of Walcott, Welbeck, and the Ox, who were all ahead of him in the pecking order.
Given Wenger’s harsh treatment of Perez, I get the impression it was the board that made this signing, more than, or rather than Wenger. I would like to see him given a chance this season. He could start on RW, with Mkhitaryan moving into the CAM position.
Well said
He was not benched by Walcott. He was benched by Iwobi and sanchez who played in left. As you remember he is solid left footed and when tried in right he failed, so he was benched.
I am a big fan of him and glad to see him being given a level playing field. Cant understand how Iwobi, Welbeck, Walcott(when he was still here) got a run of games ahead of this guy. He is good. He may not be World class but i can actually do decent comparisons with wingers like Pedro, Willian, Zaha etc. All i want is to be given a chance then take it from there. There is no way Unai would let Iwobi start ahead of Perez.
WELL COME BACK LUCAS PERES.
Is there any Facial difference between Perez and Kolsainac……
None at all….
God is great
Yes there is!! Kolasinac is very easy on the eyes… Perez isn’t imo!!!
But still God is great
The resemblance is striking. I actually took him for Kolasinac in the first training pictures. & he’s gained some weight too
I thought I was the only one that felt those two looked alike.
We are getting the space congested if Perez is to be given a first- team space then boss Emery needs to minimize the numbers of weak players like Welbeck Campbell Iwob to maintain a solid-competitive team
I believe arsenal are in a good position if Lucas arrive to finish in top 4 with what we hv for now,all we need is for the coach to demand more frm the players. as for ozil we will see the best frm him this season. he has better finisher now Dan before.
Kolasinac and perez all hv power to be the best for arsenal
How i am in love with the current transfer window…not because we are signing players but because i dont have to listen to the comments like “we are definitely active in the market and if the right player becomes available and if the player is of top top quality we will try to sign him”.. And then i will have rant on here at justarsenal that a right top top player will not be available like a bread in the store…you need to bid the right amount to make him available.
Thanks to Gazidis that my heart and mind sleep peacefully throughout this transfer window
“…Lets not forget Diaby and Wilshire coming back from injuries now are like new signings.”
Also another bulshit was “ top top players weren’t available but Walcott and Welbeck were!!
I’m just not seeing what others are in Perez. What has he actually done to warrant playing for Arsenal.
In his whole career, he has got into double figures once (goals), is that good enough for team that want to challenge for the top 4 next season, I don’t think so. Put it another way, if he wasn’t already on Arsenals books, would you be excited by his arrival, or would you be moaning that he didn’t have the quality to play for Arsenal.
Go on YouTube and watch his happy days when he was in Spain and Star against big teams- he and Campbell were not treated well with mr old conman they are natural footballers compare Walcott, Iwobi, Welbeck and Jenkinson i just didn’t know what was going on with Wenger!
I think its good Emery is giving Perez a chance
Was wrongly benched and have his all when selected.
I don’t see him in that CF position with Laca n Auba in the team but could bring a whole new dimension to our game on the left. He has speed, power versatility, dribbling, goals and a decent amount of assists something ozil can’t offer bar the assist
Also I think Emery is the perfect coach to release the talent we bargained for when we bought him
Its all going to depend on his pre season performance and hopefully he provides a reliable backup across the front line
I remember Perez goal against Bournemouth in the 3-3 draw… That was class… It came from nowhere…now Emery has to make him understand that he is a player that can produce that every week.. Emery will make him become a better predator…Emery will really improve our players and their mindset… Watch out for this improvement!…it would begin against man City…i won’t judge the preseason
All hail Emery the master tactician,the motivator, the passionate one, the touchline drama king.
He deserves the fair shot the fair shot Wenger never really gave him……
Lucas torreira told Uruguayan station telenoche” it would have been very happy to be able to return to Uruguay with my teammates,but this is a fantastic opportunity (to join arsenal) and I do not want to waste it. For the haters & doubters “na bad belle go kill una”.so tomorrow’s gonna be #announcetorreira. C.O.Y.G #Emeryarmy
I was the most happiest man d day Wenger called it quite. I know something is gonna change. He complains of not having d money but emery transfer budget is like dat of Port vale but see wat he hv done. that’s someone who hv vision n mission to fulfill. Secondly I think it should be better we get Yaya toure on free than Nzozi. he will definitely play more dan any body cos of Mancity n he have defensive n attacking ability scoring more goals Dan most strikers
He has already failed to prove himself at Arsenal , so keeping him despite of that will be a waste of time , a waste of monet and a waste of nerves
How can he have failed to prove himself when he didn’t get the chance to prove himself? And if he keeps Iwobi out of the team it is money well spent! My nerves will be nice and calm.
Bakri, please check his stats for goals and assists in games played, before you denigrate Lucas Perez.
he didnt fail. played well every time he was called upon
I could never understand why Wenger treated Lucas Perez so badly, it was unlike him. Maybe he was a Board signing and he got the hump? To me he looked technically superior to both Walcott and Iwobi and always put a good shift in the few times he was selected. I think he deserves another chance to prove himself and it appears that Emery is going give him that chance.
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Hope he gets a fair chance to prove himself, will be a useful squad player with us concentrating on the cups (most realistic chance of silverware).
If Emery is planning on a high press, a fully fit and motivated Welbeck will also be quite a handy player. I’ve never been a big fan, but he did put in some useful performances at the end of last season and really did set the tone early on a few games with his strength, pace and work-rate.
Still gutted we sold Giroud – always had his critics, often unfairly, but he remains the best plan-b in the busuness.
Maybe plan B for Chelsea and Arsenal, but plan A for France (Giroud)/
Perez is technically better than Awobi and Welbeck, also he is a far better finisher, so do not be surprised in seeing him start couple matches in the league.
Welbeck not the best at anything but gives the team the work needed and please understand that Perez was a player liked by Emery when he was in the spanish league. So the coach must have seen qualities in him he liked.
I think it was the board that signed Lucas Perez and not Arsene Wenger. Remember we’d just missed out on Jamie Vardy and we’re looking for a striker, this, I feel is the reason Wenger gave him a hard time, his usual stubbornness I’m afraid to say. “I never signed him, so I’m not playing him”. Anyway, personally I’m happy to see him back with a manager who want’s him, even if it’s just for back up. I still think this guy can play, especially when he feels wanted.
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Why should Wenger freez out a player because the Board signed him ? Is Wenger the employee greater than the Board? The truth is that we had a lame duck Board when Wenger held sway. Nobody could talk to him or advise him. Perez was not the first victim of Wenger. He froze out Podoski and Joe Campbell for the same reason. It’s insufferable arrogance and extreme selfishness for a manager to be benching players , good players ,just because they were found to be good and brought in by the Board. Perez showed he was a good player whenever Wenger grudgingly gave him a chance. Wenger gave him a total of 950 minutes in all competitions throughout the season! The man Perez scored 7 goals with 6 assists for that limited time and some people said he did not prove himself .How else could he have proved himself as a good player ? Wenger preferred to play his favourites (those he recruited himself ))in every game even when they were underperforming . That was why Arsenal dropped out of top four in the last two seasons.
I am happy that Wenger has been kicked out .Arsenal can now flourish under a new ‘Head Coach who is reputed to be fair minded.
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Samuel, it is all very well being indignant and trashing the most successful manager the club has ever had.
All I ask from you is the FACTS that you base your assumptions on.
Just ask yourself why would Wenger not want to have a successful team and then bask in the glory IF he was the manager you describe?
Morning Ken-Herbert Chapman was the most successful Manager in the history of Arsenal not Wenger.And Samuels points are both fair and on point.Why buy Podolski?Same with Perez?And then not play them.As far as Campbell is concerned this is just ANOTHER player Wenger and HIS TRANSFER TEAM got hopelessly wrong.Wenger Bought these players.He was the one that demanded full control.Do you recall last years comment when the “Catylis for Change” was first announced by I.G.?WHAT IS A DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL.
I can only imagine how he feels now looking at the Club from that OUTSIDE.
We seem to have a Manager who had identified(With of course The Transfer Team bought to the Club DURING Wengers reign)clear targets to pursue.Why not the last minute TROLLEY DASH Wenger inflicted on us year after year when our supposed targets just never arrived.
I accept you will always respect Wenger for his achievements and loyalty(£9m per year would certainly buy most peoples loyalty)but you do now seem as though ANY post against our FORMER MANAGER must be defended at all cost if it criticises him in any way
Afternoon Phil, depends how you classify success of course.
Chapman was a manager way ahead of his time, a man who was a review figure in football.
So many changes in the game resulted from the man’s vision and he rightly has a statue recognising that.
Wenger’s vision was in a different direction, He also brought a different vision to the game, but his was based on the player. He revolutised the way they thought, played, trained, their diets and physical attributes.
Today’s fans measure success by trophies a fact that is repeated day after day on this site.
I won’t even list the difference between the two manager’s using this criteria and that is why Wenger is by far the most successful in the club’s history.
You say I feel the need to defend any post against our manager, but that is patently untrue. If that WAS the case, I would have to had challenged at least five different posts on this post alone.
You, above all, know my views on Wenger’s last two years and the man himself is now part of our history.
What I challenge is when someone tries to rewrite history.
I asked for proof that these ridiculous accusations about favourite players.
Not one, I repeat, not one PLAYER has alleged that they were victimised in this way.
The three players you mentioned were not considered good enough by Wenger to have a regular first team role and he must have known that this would be viewed as you are doing? He had the courage to make that decision and I must ask you if you believe any of the three deserved to be first choice from their performances when given the opportunity?
I agree with you regarding your trolley dash comment, but yet
Again Phil, you ignore the role of Gazidis in this.
Just take the signing of Abu and how Gazidis dilly dallied trying to get him on the cheap. It didn’t work and meant that the need for a defensive signing didn’t happen.
Griezmann is another example of Wenger’s wishes being overridden. Hardly the results of a man in full control.
As a business man yourself, do you really believe that Kronkie and the board allowed Wenger to run a club the size of Arsenal with no control over him and Kronkies investments? Absolutely ridiculous in my opinion.
Finally Phil, you are free to belittle Wenger whenever you want. You do this with even more regularity than I defend him.
The difference between us is that I do see both sides of Wenger’s decision-making in the last three years.
Some terrible and some positive.
You, in my opinion, just will not move on and bring him up in nearly every post to ridicule the man. The 9million dig is a perfect example.
We have completely different views on Wenger’s legacy, that will never change. I am looking forward to the new regime become the undisputed most successful manager of all time.
Guyz to say de truth he impressed when given de chance it is mr venger who ruined him but giving playing time to welbek n iwibi who hardly scoring isn’t problem I can c some of you hate players by their looks not wat they do
“…Lets not forget Diaby and Wilshire coming back from injuries now are like new signings
When Perez Came I Thought It Was Just One Of Those Same Old Wenger Signings But Each I Saw Him Play I Saw A Play Who Is Gifted I Was Shocked When We Sent Him On Loan Im Glad We Now Have Unai