Lucas Perez could use some luck
Were FIFA to conduct a separate award ceremony for the unluckiest footballers across the globe, Arsenal’s Lucas Perez would run away with all the honours. The wantaway Spaniard can probably take heart from the fact that he’d join an illustrious company in doing so, but nothing would serve as a compensation for the year that he has unfortunately had to waste at Arsenal.
Poor Perez was plying his trade rather well at Deportivo La Caruna before someone with spare time termed him as the Spanish Jamie Vardy. Arsene Wenger’s failed pursuit of the English, the original Vardy meant that he wasn’t going to let this chance pass him by, going so further as to hijack Everton’s done deal with Perez and make him a Gunner before anyone even had the slightest of ideas. How the 28-year would wish that he had never turned down a move to the good-old Merseyside.
With Lucas Perez also arrived a certain Shkodran Mustafi as well, and while he went on to establish himself in the famous “Kostafi” partnership alongside Laurent Koscielny, the former barely made it into Wenger’s XI, managing only a scanty 21 appearances across a long season, scoring seven goals as well as assisting five, including a UEFA Champions League hat-trick. To be fair to him, an involvement in 12 goals, having only started nine games and played a total of 948 minutes, is a decent tally. To average a goal or an assist every 79 minutes isn’t bad by any stretch of imagination either.
Truth be told, Lucas Perez always looked like a player who had been bought to pacify the grumpy set of supporters crying out for a pacy, creative and clinical forward – Wenger gave them just that, albeit against his own wish as has been reported several times. No matter how good, he was always going to struggle for playing time at The Emirates, with a number of similar, more trusted options available; so it’s not a shock for anyone to see him on the verge of leaving, possibly for Sevilla.
Buying him was a mistake in the first place, but now that he has proven himself despite getting such limited playing time, would it be wise on Arsenal’s part to let him leave? Footballing nous says no, Arsenal’s own situation says no and the fans would definitely say no. Perez offers everything that Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck never have: A poacher’s instinct, creative edge and the right use of pace. It’s not too often that you get all of this for a mere £17m.
Arsenal may send him back to Spain, though there remains no reason as to why should that be done, especially with Chamberlain, Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez headed towards the exit door if the speculation is anything to go by. There being no major additions as yet either, to be unable to stop Lucas Perez would be a failure on Arsene Wenger’s part, as it’s up to him to realise that sometimes, it’s beneficial to choose ability over personal preferences.
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Put crudely, Perez wants to stay. All he needs is an assurance that he gets his chance more often – is that too much to demand from a player of his calibre? Absolutely not. Sadly, he seems to have the lost the battle, although it’s a defeat that serves him well, not the winner. Modern day football, folks.