How good is Arsenal target Lucas Perez? We compare his FM16 stats to 5 Premier League strikers

It looks like Arsene Wenger is finally set to spend some money.

After months of inactivity in the transfer market the Arsenal boss is now closing in on a £17m deal for Deportivo La Coruna striker Lucas Perez.

There are reports that Wenger actually turned down the Spaniard earlier in the summer with several scouts reporting he was “not at Arsenal’s level”.

But facing pressure from fans to bring in reinforcements, Wenger now looks poised to sign the 27-year-old.

So just how good is he? We asked our friends over at Football Manager to dig out his stats, and to compare him to five top current Premier League strikers – just as you would when considering making a signing in the game.

“But hang on, isn’t Football Manager just a computer game? What’s it got to do with real players?” I hear you cry.

Well, it is indeed a computer game but the creators strive to make it as realistic as possible and employ thousands of scouts all around the world to assess players. Even some top end clubs use the game as part of their scouting process so their numbers can give us a real insight into players’ strengths and weaknesses.

So here are the all-important stats. His finishing comes in at a not-hugely-impressive-for-a-forward 11.

He won’t be getting too many headers either it would seem, with a heading rating of just 6.

His pace and flair both come in at a resectable 15, with his passing and technique a decent 14.

Lucas Perez vs Sergio Aguero

Perez beats Aguero on corners, crossing, positioning and even work rate, but the Man City man has him beat on finishing, technique, dribbling, composure, decisions, first touch, and so on, and on.

But then Aguero is probably the best striker in the country so we can cut Lucas a bit of slack.

Lucas Perez vs Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Again, the comparison doesn’t look great. Lucas beats the Zlatan on corners, crossing, tackling, positioning, work rate and pace/acceleration, but lags behind in literally every other category.

Lucas Perez vs Harry Kane

This comparison is a little more evenly balanced, but Kane still has the beating of Lucas on key striker attributes like finishing, heading and decision making.

Lucas Perez vs Diego Costa

Lucas does pretty well against Chelsea man Costa, except for finishing, heading and aggression. Obviously.

Lucas Perez vs Olivier Giroud

But what about a striker already on Arsenal’s books?

Inevitably he loses out to Giroud on finishing and particularly heading, but he beats him hands down for build-up play attributes like corners, crossing, passing, positioning and flair.

Verdict

Perez netted 17 goals in La Liga last season in a Deportivo side that finished 15th.

So he clearly has something about him – but his relatively poor finishing stats show he is not an out-and-out lead the line type striker who is likely to wallop in 20 goals in the Premier League.

Do Arsenal fans really want to sign another player who impresses with approach play but then lets it all down with his finishing? Haven’t they already got enough of those?!

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10