Arsenal forward Lucas Perez has hit out at the club after his number 9 shirt was offered to summer signing Alexandre Lacazette without any intimation. The Spaniard is desperate to return to Deportivo La Coruna this summer after he feels ‘cheated’ by the north London club.
Perez, 28, arrived at the Emirates during the previous summer transfer window after the Gunners triggered the £17.1 release clause in his Depor contract.
The attacker was promised a regular starting spot in the Gunners lineup with a view to breaking into the Spain national side ahead of the World Cup finals in Russia.
However, Perez struggled to make himself a regular up front, and it was more or less Alexis Sanchez or Olivier Giroud, who were prepared during the initial stages of the campaign.
As the season went on, Danny Welbeck returned from his long-term knee setback, and he managed to break into the starting lineup whilst Perez warmed the substitutes’ bench.
Though Perez had injuries along the way, he was restricted to just 11 appearances in the top-flight, whilst he made only two starts including his debut against Southampton.
Speaking to local outlet La Voz de Galicia, Perez admits that he is disappointed by the club’s latest gesture after his shirt number was given to summer signing Lacazette without his knowledge.
“I want to leave, to play and be happy,” he told the Spanish source h/t Sky Sports News. “Last year 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.
“They [Arsenal] are not behaving well with me,” Perez reportedly told Law. “The thing of taking the shirt number without telling me to give it to a companion, it seems to me the last straw.”
Perez had been linked with a Gunners exit as early as the New Year, and the attacker appears to have received an offer from China which the club declined with the promise that he would feature more in the backend of the season.
However, he barely got a kick following the shift to the 3-4-2-1 formation, he feels cheated by manager Arsene Wenger who made an ‘ugly gesture’ with the shirt number earlier this month.
He added: “I cannot continue this way. I have given everything, but that has not been reciprocated, so I can’t stand it any longer. I feel cheated. In February I was not allowed to leave for China with the promise that I would play more and after that I had even fewer opportunities.
“But the shirt number is an ugly gesture. On the trip, Lacazette asked the boss and he accepted. Afterwards, he told me. Last year he [Wenger] told me that he understood that I was upset. I think this season things will get worse, so help me out.”
Perez has been offered a ten-year contract in order to seal his return to A Coruna this summer, and the Spaniard is desperate to seal his return to Deportivo in order to realise his ambition of playing in a World Cup, he concluded: “To play the World Cup. A dream. But for that I have to play and I have to be happy. That’s why I want to go back to Coruna.”
Taking his limited appearances into account, Perez has made a more than decent impression in the Gunners shirt after having bagged seven goals and five assists in just 21 outings for the club.
A return to Depor looks the most likely option for the forward, but it is yet to be seen whether Arsenal accept a £7-8m loss on a player who has three years left on his contract.
Perez would also have to take a reasonable pay-cut on his £70,000 a week salary in order to make the switch back to A Coruna, where he managed 17 league goals in the 2015/16 season.
