After Monday drama with made-up quotes about Lucas Perez’s future, the player himself has spoken out to clarify a few things.

Coming on the back of a rare start, a predictable goal, and a host of agent denials about the claims Lucas was unhappy and on his way out, Lucas was naturally quizzed about it after the game against Sutton.

“Arsenal are a big team and the competition for places is big. Everyone wants to play and it’s normal. Today I am happy because I played and scored a goal … and now I need to continue like this to convince the boss to trust more on me,” Lucas told Cadena Cope.

“Obviously everyone expects to play more. After I scored the hat-trick (against Basel in the Champions League) the boss did not count much with me. But that also means that teammates are very good. The team have not had a bad streak of losing three or four matches in a row…

“The competition is big and you have to wait for your moment to make the most of the opportunity when it arrives.”

After the match Wenger hinted that Lucas could play against Liverpool but he also covered himself by highlighting how many forwards he has at his disposal.