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Arsenal: Lucas Perez Injury Troubling Mostly From A Selfish Standpoint
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal has relatively avoided the injury bug this year, but it has reached out and grabbed Lucas Perez. How concerning is this injury, if at all?
Arsenal‘s ongoing war with the injury bug is well-documented and recurring. Yet this year, most battles have been won by our Gunners. It’s been a bit rough lately, with Ramsey and Giroud just returning and Cazorla hitting the dust recently. Now, the latest battle has claimed Lucas Perez, who has been ruled out until December.
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The Spaniard suffered an injury and limped off the pitch against Reading, leaving Olivier Giroud to pick up the remains and remind everyone what he could do. That in and of itself set Lucas even further on the back foot, but now that we know that Lucas is facing over a month out, the trouble is permeating.
However, it’s not all that troubling from an Arsenal standpoint. Lucas was making breakthroughs against lesser opponents, but if Giroud were to take that role, the results would be magnified tenfold.
Even at his worst, Giroud was acknowledged as a flat-track bully who pushed around lesser teams that sat back and welcomed him. That would continue against teams like Ludogorets, as we will see come November.
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The only major troubling part to this injury is from Lucas Perez’s point of view. He is already pressed for time, with Giroud returning and Welbeck on the mend for 2017. Plus, the fact that he was under the impression that he was going to be given a ‘starring role’ indicates that there could be drama on the horizon. Four strikers in one team? That’s a crowd.
There are many matches coming up that could have given Lucas more time to flex his ability – namely against Ludogorets, who he already bullied.
He will not be able to face teams of that low quality later in the season. The EFL Cup is passing the point of pushover competition and the FA Cup is no guarantee to produce similar match-ups. Lucas’s confidence building matches have expired prematurely.
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When he returns, he will have to go through Olivier Giroud, and that is no easy feat. He will get frustrated with his lack of playing time and then Danny Welbeck will return. This is a tough situation for both parties and one that will leave Wenger with questions to answer.