Arsenal: Lucas Perez In Danger Of An Early Checkout

Arsenal deployed Lucas Perez against Sutton United, thankfully, and he scored a goal. No surprises there. But he may be mentally back in Spain already.

Arsenal are severely mismanaging Lucas Perez. So much so that his agent recently came out and, rather than beat around the bust, noted that yes, his client was not happy with how little he was playing in North London. He did add that he wanted to succeed at the club, but that doesn’t matter if Wenger won’t play him.

Related: 5 Things We Learned Against Sutton United

Yet again against Sutton, he wasn’t given the No. 9 role, as Theo Walcott was inexplicably handed it.

Thankfully though, Lucas did end up spending more time there than a normal winger would.

Throughout the match, Lucas showed two things that should not be shocking at all. First of all, he showed great talent on the ball, slipped in a sneaky goal that could also have been a pass, and displayed exactly what we’ve known he has had this entire time.

He also showed body language. The same kind of body language that Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez show when something doesn’t go there way.

Lucas had himself a great game. There is no questioning that. But it was so obvious that his frustrations were bursting out of him. The Spaniard was a major player on the offense but anytime it didn’t work out, it was clear that he wanted more. He wanted more of the ball, more chances, more time.

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Probably because he didn’t know when he would be playing again.

Before he scored that goal, which did alter his mood slightly, I was worried that Lucas was already mentally checked out, Lukas Podolski syle. As I said, the goal brought him back into it, but it was still clear that he wasn’t happy out there. He was frustrated.

I worry now that he will be mentally checked out before we even get to the crunch time of the season. Maybe his agent covered up the initial rumors that Lucas wanted out pretty well, but it’s obvious that he is not happy and if that doesn’t shape up, and given a likely exit from the Champions League and very few FA Cup matches remaining, why would it shape up, then Wenger may find himself down a weapon before the summer even rolls around.

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Hopefully it won’t come to that. Lucas has a fantastic opportunity to be a serious player for Arsenal if only he is given the chance. But when Iwobi is starting every single game, it’s hard to find room for anyone else, even if they are in finer fettle.