Gone With The Wind-
Arsene Wenger is looking to sell some of the unwanted stock at his club to raise funds for higher quality players. The latest summer move was made by forward Lucas Perez, the Spanish footballer joined his former side Deportivo La Coruna on loan, just hours before the transfer window shut.
Lucas joined Arsenal at the beginning of last term but failed to impress the fans at the Emirates as he wasn’t given a run of games. He joined the club for a fee of £17m and managed seven goals across all competitions but could not establish himself as a regular first team player at the North-London club.
Having made 21 appearances for Arsenal, most of them came off the bench as he was primarily used as a substitute. Perez’ most memorable moment in an Arsenal shirt came when he managed to grab a hat-trick in a Champions League game against FC Basel. But that was just a small moment in a rather horrendous 2016-17 campaign.
La Liga side Deportivo have now brought him back for a fee of £10m on loan, but it doesn’t seem like he would return back to Arsenal. However, the English club seems to have made a loss with the signing of the Spanish forward.
The 28 year old will now play his football for his home-town club after lack of opportunities at Arsenal, though he tried his best to fight for a place.
More embarrassingly, Arsenal switched his jersey with new arrival Alexandre Lacazette, who currently holds the club’s transfer record. Perez did not have any idea that this took place and felt ‘betrayed’ according to reports.
And the arrival of more forward players would just push Perez further down the pecking order for the first team. Rafael Benitez was another suitor who was keen on signing Perez, but Arsenal agreed on a fee with Deportivo, where they felt he wouldn’t be a direct rival player in the league.
The move should seem respected for the player, who was struggling for regular football at the Emirates and can now get more playing time.
What Next For Arsenal?
Losing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would have been a set-back in its own sense, though the Gunners do have enough stars to fill the void. The attacker decided to join Liverpool and ignored Chelsea’s interest in his services, which would have been a plus point for the fans, as he did not join a direct London based rival.
It will now be up to the French manager to start the revival process of his side, as they look to recover in the top flight of English football, after the international break is done.
The north London outfit have not made a good start to the new campaign, with a couple of losses in the first three games, as they were beaten by both Stoke City and Liverpool. Wenger will now look to utilize his summer signings and get the best results in the days to come.
He has an FA Cup title to defend as well, along with the hopes of winning some more silverware. Like our page for the updates.
