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Arsenal: Lucas Perez Won’t Find It Getting Any Easier
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal were unceremoniously dumped out of the EFL Cup and in the process, Lucas Perez was dealt a harsh reminder of reality.
It’s never fun when Arsenal lose. It may only be the EFL Cup, the unloved stepchild of competitions that the Gunners are involved in, but still, it was a frustrating game. It’s as if all the frustrations from previous matches all came in all at once and tore us down.
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And all at the Emirates too. In front of an excited home crowd.
Southampton did not send out their best. It was still a powerful team, but there is no reason why a cut-rate Arsenal shouldn’t have been put them away. It was a collaborative effort, with Carl Jenkinson, the midfield duo, Aaron Ramsey and yes, Lucas Perez, all combining for a rather putrid effort.
I would like to focus on Lucas Perez. It’s not going to get easier for this man. He has only had success in games that got out of hand. When he faced Southampton earlier in the year, he was similarly dismissed.
The simple truth may be that he just isn’t up to the level of quality that the Gunner’s need. VIrgil van Dijk, who is a very powerful defender, mind you, put Lucas in his pocket and I’m not sure when he will emerge, if ever.
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It’s nice to have an option like Lucas who can be that bully of smaller teams, but the majority of the season in all competitions is spent against top tier teams. Also known as the teams that Lucas gets smothered by.
Southampton have no stifled Lucas twice and with his sporadic appearances, he isn’t going to have the necessary opportunities to improve upon his fortunes. It’s not going to get any easier for him.
Unless. And this is a big unless. Unless Lucas moves out wide to find space to get his feet underneath him. This is the only scenario where I can see things getting easier for him because it sure as hell isn’t going to happen at striker.
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There was plenty of reason to be optimistic about Lucas coming to town, but the sad reality is that without a healthy amount of opportunities, it isn’t going to click. He played a hold up, link up play in La Liga that won’t work against hulking Premier League defenders like Virgil van Dijk.