“They are not behaving well with me.”
Lucas Perez is unhappy and wants to leave Arsenal.
The Spanish forward only arrived at the club last summer, costing £17.1m from Deportivo de La Coruna. The transfer was somewhat puzzling. Perez was 27, so hardly one for the future, and had only reached double figures twice in his career.
Arsene Wenger had also reportedly turned down the chance to sign Perez a month before the deal was made.
Wenger is staying, but some of these players should probably go https://t.co/Yts0ESgy8u
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 30, 2017
It appears Wenger was never fully convinced by Perez. The Spanish forward made just 21 appearances last season, scoring seven goals and was never given a run of games, playing just 11 times in the Premier League.
Perez gave a decent account of himself, he registered five assists and scored a hat-trick in the Champions League against FC Basel. But he was always going to find it difficult to start ahead of players such as Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud.
The 28-year-old looks set to return to Deportivo, and leaves after firing a parting shot at the club.
Anything over 15 is a good score… https://t.co/vBK5fSye4Z
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 31, 2017
Perez has lost his number nine shirt to Arsenal’s new striker Alexandre Lacazette, signed from Lyon for £46.5m, and isn’t happy about it. The forward has been given the number 28 jersey instead, but it doesn’t look like he’ll ever get to wear it.
“I want to leave, to play and be happy,” Perez told Spanish media.
“Last season, I barely had any opportunities and when I had them I took advantage of them, and this season is clearly going to be more of the same. I want to fight to go to the national team. I want to play football, but for that I have to leave. And I think that the best place for me is at home, with Depor. They (Arsenal) are not behaving well with me. The thing of taking the shirt number without telling me to give it to a companion, it seems to me the last straw. I cannot continue this way. I have given everything, but that has not been reciprocated, so I can’t stand it.”
The Arsenal number nine jersey doesn’t exactly have a glorious history.
