Arsenal have had the pleasure of seeing an abundance of attacking talent sport the cannon over the years, with Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta all having a scorer of some potency throughout their tenures.
The most notable of the Premier League era is of course the Gunners’ all-time leading goalscorer Thierry Henry, who scored 228 goals in 377 appearances during his time in north London, seeing him now cast in bronze at the Emirates.
While the Frenchman remains at the benchmark for others to attempt to reach, Arteta’s young and hungry talents of today are proving that they could be in good stead to hand Arsenal some well overdue major silverware.
The likes of talent of Bukayo Saka was unearthed in house at Hale End, however star forwards such as Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard were collected in the transfer market, all prevailing to be effective captures.
Emery and Arteta struck gold with their signings, who have contributed to a mass of goals so far in their careers at the Emirates, however not every signing has experienced such success at Arsenal.
Ironically it was one of Wenger’s attacking captures that failed to live up to expectation, as in 2016, all the hope was there for the legendary Frenchman to have discovered his next prolific source in the transfer window.
Lucas Perez's arrival at Arsenal in 2016
During the summer of 2016, it was announced that Arsenal had signed La Liga talisman Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna for a fee of £17.1m.
The striker, who was 27 years old at the point of his arrival, admitted he was “flattered” when he heard of Arsenal’s interest, as the Gunners looked for a new face to bolster their attack after relying solely on Olivier Giroud the season prior.
Wenger’s side had finished second in the 2015/16 campaign to Leicester City, giving the north Londoners fuel to improve their squad in the summer in order to continue the upward trajectory, however, this was far from the case.
The reasons why Arsenal signed Lucas Perez
Perez was signed after Arsenal had been unable to grasp their primary targets Jamie Vardy and Alexandre Lacazette, making critics gather quickly around the assumption that the Spaniard was the result of a ‘panic buy’.
Spanish football expert and journalist Guillem Balague was quick to defend the Gunners’ acquisition, explaining that the Premier League side had been “following Perez for a year”, branding the move a “top signing” for Arsenal.
In La Liga the season prior to his transfer, the 27-year-old had directly contributed to 27 goals in 26 appearances for La Coruna, scoring 17 and assisting ten in the league to showcase just what he could offer to Wenger’s front line.
The scene was set for the Spaniard to offer Arsenal a refreshed source for goals, after fans had become frustrated by the inconsistency of Giroud, and with an impressive scoring tally in Spain’s top-flight in 2015/16, the Gunners were poised to welcome the striker with open arms.
The impact of Lucas Perez at Arsenal
After all of the excitement of Perez’s arrival in what was a fairly inconclusive transfer window for Wenger’s side, things were quickly seen differently as the reality of the situation was realised.
The Spaniard made his Premier League debut in September against Southampton, however that start was just one of three starts that he secured for the Gunners during his year-long stay at the Emirates.
From lack of performance, to injury, to slipping down the pecking order, Perez failed to live up to expectation at Arsenal, and admittedly was given little chance to show his true potential in Wenger’s side.
The striker scored seven goals and registered five assists during his 21 appearances for the club, making the best out of what was a situation that starved him of game time due to competitions within the squad.
A hat-trick in the Champions League group stages against FC Basel was the highest point of the Spaniard’s time with the Gunners, however, he made it clear that he wasn’t at the Emirates to assume a sporadic role, despite being branded as "poor" by journalist Mattias Karen for his end product.
The reasons why Lucas Perez left Arsenal
A year after his arrival, Perez was sent back to La Coruna on a season-long loan, to grant his wishes of more game time after the north Londoners sealed the signing of long-term target, Alexandre Lacazette.
The forward made it clear that he was unhappy at Arsenal, telling Spanish media that the club had treated him badly, with the final straw being an “ugly gesture” in which Lacazette was handed Perez’s number nine shirt without asking, as relayed by Sky Sports.
On his return from his loan, the forward was prepped and ready to leave the Gunners, which he did, only by relocating to the other side of London, where he signed for West Ham United in a £4m deal.
History seemed to repeat itself, as Perez was handed only a slim chance to shine, leaving the London Stadium after just one year, having secured four Premier League starts that season, netting a total of six goals in 19 appearances in all competitions for the Hammers.
Lucas Perez's form since leaving Arsenal
After leaving England, Perez returned to his homeland, where he has remained since his exit from east London in 2018.
West Ham handed the out-of-favour striker to Deportivo Alaves, where he has since represented Elche and Cadiz, before this summer returning to his home club Deportivo La Coruna.
England
Spain
Goals
13
73
Assists
5
45
Via Transfermarkt
Currently playing the third tier of Spanish football at the age of 35, Perez has found sanctuary in his home country, as highlighted by his form at the point of his La Coruna return as he found himself among the goals with Cadiz in La Liga.
While things didn’t work for Perez at Arsenal, they certainly work for the striker in Spain, with him actually outscoring the Gunners’ current hitman Gabriel Jesus during the 2022/23 campaign.
Last term, the forward played half of the season with Cadiz, before joining La Coruna in January, where over the course of the football calendar he scored 13 goals and provided eight assists.
Jesus scored 11 goals and replicated Perez’s record of eight assists in 2022/23, finding the net two times less than the former Arsenal outsider to put into perspective just how difficult it is for some players to adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
Jesus is far better suited to Arsenal, just as Perez is far better suited to the game in Spain, however one thing that’s for sure is that the Gunners learned from their mistake of recruiting the Spaniard, with their striker signings since his arrival proving to have improved significantly.
From Jesus, to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, gone are the days of lacklustre acquisitions in the strike department at the Emirates, and unfortunately for Perez, he had to be the final dud to change the trajectory in the transfer window for Arsenal.
