Lucas was sent home on loan after just one season at Arsenal. Despite impressing when he got a chance with Arsenal, it was clear that Arsene Wenger didn’t fancy him as a player and he left last summer.

But his return has not been anything like his first spell with Deportivo.

A hero when he left, they even offered him a massive long-term deal to keep him at the club. He rejected their offer and headed to London.

Six goals and five assists in 32 La Liga games is a very poor return from a player who scored 17 (with 10 assists) the season before he joined Arsenal.

He’s now being linked with a move to Benfica as it seems unlikely Deportivo will extend his stay into next season.

His agent, however, does not seem to think a permanent move to Benfica would be viable. Rodrigo Lovelle told O Jogo, “The Portuguese clubs can’t afford the three million euros net that he receives and which he cannot abdicate. For the Portuguese reality, you can only fit in the context of a loan.”

Of course, now that Wenger is leaving, there is the possibility that he could return to Arsenal to try and fight for a place under the new manager.

Speaking last summer when Wenger signed his new deal, Lucas’s agent said, “If everything is still the same and the coach is the same, in theory the opportunities are going to be the same, few, and our idea is to leave. We know that Arsenal is the ‘owner’ of the player, and that contract says that its duration is three more seasons.”

Any decision about his future will not be taken until a new manager is in place and he has had a chance to chat with the 29-year-old.

Arsenal have 15 players out on loan this season and you can read about how they have all done this season by clicking next…

In total, Arsenal sent 15 players on loan this season between the summer and January windows, so let’s take a look at how those spells are going for each of them.

by Dan Critchlow