Lucas Perez discusses his time at Arsenal, his impact on the pitch, and a failed transfer to Barcelona.

• Lucas Perez’s transfer to Barcelona was halted when Alavés demanded a 15 million euro termination clause, while Barcelona offered 8 million euros.
• At Arsenal, Perez faced stiff competition from stars like Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Özil, and Santi Cazorla, but still managed to make an impact with nine goals and five assists in just 1,000 minutes of play.
• Perez expressed gratitude towards Arsenal fans, who showed him affection and maintained fond memories of his time with the club.

Arsenal fans are likely to remember Lucas Perez’s time with the club relatively fondly, during which he showcased his talent despite limited opportunities. In a recent interview with ESPN, the Deportivo striker shared his thoughts on his time at Arsenal, as well as his frustration over a failed transfer to Barcelona.

Perez’s potential move to Barcelona was halted when Alavés demanded the termination clause of 15 million euros.

Perez, who was 31 at the time, felt that Barcelona’s offer of 8 million euros would have been reasonable, but Alavés refused to budge. “What are you going to do? It’s a train that passes and you can’t get on,” Perez reflected.

The striker also empathised with Alavés’ position, noting that the club wanted to maintain its top scorer. “You have to understand Alavés. They want to stay [in the league] and selling their top scorer is not a great idea,” he said.

Perez’s experience was not unique, as Alavés similarly refused to sell Joselu to Sevilla the following year.

During his time at Arsenal, Perez found himself competing for playing time with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Özil, and Santi Cazorla. “You go to training and there Alexis is ready to play. And you think: ‘Are you better than Alexis? He’s very good too,'” Perez said.

Despite the stiff competition, Perez managed to make an impact at Arsenal, contributing nine goals and what he recalls as ‘six or seven assists’ in just 1,000 minutes of play. He believes that if given more opportunities, he could have scored 20 or 25 goals. “My numbers aren’t bad,” he noted.

Perez also expressed gratitude towards Arsenal fans, who have shown him affection and maintained fond memories of his time with the club. “The fans have always shown me a lot of affection, it seems they have good memories of me,” he said.

Lucas Perez at Arsenal

Lucas Perez joined Arsenal in August 2016 from Deportivo La Coruna for a reported fee of around £17 million. He was expected to bolster the attacking options for then-manager Arsène Wenger.

During his time at Arsenal, Perez found it difficult to secure regular playing time due to the presence of established stars such as Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Özil, Santi Cazorla, and Olivier Giroud.

Some memorable moments from Perez’s time at Arsenal include a hat-trick against FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League group stage and a stunning volley against Bournemouth in the Premier League.

However, after only one season at the club, Perez was loaned back to Deportivo La Coruna for the 2017-2018 season, and eventually, he moved to West Ham United in August 2018.

His stint at Arsenal was relatively short, but he still managed to leave a positive impression on the fans, who appreciated his effort and skill on the pitch.