Lucas Perez (Transfer complete)

While i have no doubt all clubs scout some targets much more than others, but to scout a striker for 9 months and still not buy them at the start of the season when you’re so desperate for a striker?

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Can’t help siding with the opinion that it’s a little dispiriting beating clubs like Everton to the signing of key players now, although that is the reality we’re faced with under the current regime at Arsenal. We’ve dithered with a few and been unlucky with a few more, so on it goes to Lucas Perez

So with that said, I prefer to the focus on the positives of it. HIs stats and commentaries suggest he’s tailor-made for the Prem, clearly he’s not going to be playing alongside Giroud, so it will give us that ‘Vardy-esque’ option that we haven’t had in recent times: Walcott’s just done at this club in my opinion and Perez will provide that replacement option when we need it and forego the more possession-heavy side of our game (which of course we will do whenever coming up against the best in the game and Guardiola’s City in England now too).

I’m really quite pleased with the capture of Shkodran Mustafi in defence, so any ‘glamour clamour’ regarding this signing is a little negated for me anyway. Perez’ll offer something we don’t have, and has to be better (consistently) than Walcott.

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Clubs will almost always have a preference list of players they to bring in. There’s no doubt Perez was further down that list for us. Just because we pulled we pulled the trigger now doesn’t mean we haven’t been watching him extensively

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It seems quite apparent what has happened here.

We were tracking an elite level player (Griezmann or whoever) and when that inevitably died, we went for the backup. When we realised that Everton were close to signing him, we escalated and got it done quickly. I have no doubt that we were going to try and lowball Depor by offering £2-3m less than the buyout as well but the situation forced our hand.

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Ozil welcoming a mobile, technical striker to training.

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Yes I know, however, I don’t believe it all the same.

I’m friends with Simon Collings from school / University - says he’s next to the chap chopping up the welcome vid for Arsenal right now.

Definitely happening - looking forward to seeing him go! Could be a find.

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Anyone saying theyll judge this lad in may is just fucking telling lies.
Everyone will be making judgement calls by October especially if were falling behind in the league. Im wanting a Michu but fearing an Aspas like Liverpool had.
Lets be honest here non of the big boys are batting an eye lid at this.

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I’m pretty sure Barcelona were also tracking Perez but seems they’re going to (finally) land Alcacer.

And to be fair, Koeman is an astute manager - if he wanted him at Everton then that’s a good sign for me (especially with the Leicester scout moving there with his “Judging Player Ability” rating of 20).

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I’d only assume there was/is a list of targets (clearly with us going for Vardy early) and Perez was a number down it. I won’t justify the timing of it all. There may have been something bigger in the offing but we decided it wasn’t plausible.

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We may well have scouted them but I’m with you - there is no way Perez was a priority lol

Good to have you back Robin, your presence has been missed around here!

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The price tag isn’t the problem, it’s the four season wait, and empty promises that are annoying.

He might turn out to be better than Giroud but at the start of this transfer window the bare minimum most supporters expected were a world class striker and top quality CB, as well as a winger, considering we spent hardly anything in the previous transfer window.

I’m not sure Perez fits the world class description, or is what Ozxil and Sanchez deserve, but hopefully he can score some of the chances from those two that Giroud used to waste.

At least Wenger bought someone who can go into the first team, but whether he is much better than Giroud or Welbeck, who knows?

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Just praying he can stick at centre forward–and above all that Wenger gives him time there, and displace Giroud. If he ends up playing on he RW a lot like Welbeck did before last season were talking about a very minor addition.

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If he is having his medical today, reckon there’s a chance of him playing on the weekend?

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He would have to be registered today, so no there’s not a chance.

Unlikely, Wenger said [in his press-conference] there will be no arrivals today.

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I hoped for a world class striker, I certainly didn’t expect one.

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Lads we have our 25 plus goal a season striker, hear me out:

The last time we had a striker with good movement in RVP, he averaged 4.5 shots per 90 mins.

Giroud with his very slow movement averaged 3.8 shots per 90 last year and 3.39 the season before

Suarez in his last season at Liverpool averaged 5.5 per game

Perez got his 17 goals off 2.8 shots per game. He has better movement and pace than Giroud so should get more chances. If he gets 4.5 chances per game and he scored at the same rate he’d get 27 league goals and even if he only gets 3.39 chances per game then he gets 20.5 goals. That’s without factoring in penalties. Now in practice this may not work obviously, maybe he won’t be as good against parked buses, we don’t know.

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Barcelona were looking at him because they need depth behind the 3 best attackers in the world - totally different situation. It wasn’t like Barca were going to sign Ibra or Lewy or Aguero with Messi, Neymar, and Suarez… it is completely different. We needed a second striker/first wing attacker and we have ZERO depth at striker atm.

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