Arsenal: Lucas Perez Living In Olivier Giroud’s Shadow

Arsenal squeezed by against Preston North End, thanks in large part to Lucas Perez. Can he step out of Giroud’s shadow, though?

Arsenal‘s victory over Preston North End in the FA Cup third round is hopefully a wake-up call. It was a tough game to watch and it reminded me to always remember that the Championship is not to be underestimated.

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This was a very capable Gunner’s squad and they struggled. The entire first half was poor and had Ramsey not equalized less than a minute into the second, it could have gotten much worse.

In the end though, while Olivier Giroud shipped home the winner, Lucas Perez snuck into the spotlight yet again. However, his spotlight was so short lives that will likely be forgotten in the long haul.

Likewise, his goal against Bournemouth, which was nothing short of special, has taken a back seat to Olivier Giroud as well. It’s almost like Lucas Perez is living in the shadow of the big Frenchman, who always seems to steal the splendor right as Lucas has entered it.

But there is nothing wrong with that. As we have seen with Mesut Ozil, sometimes hanging back in the shadows is an alright thing. It diverts attention away from you and makes people essentially forget about you from time to time.

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We have been really waiting for Lucas to latch onto relevance for quite some time. Up until his recent performances, it has been all good intentions. It’s clear in everything he does that he knows what he wants to have happen and usually it’s a positive thing, but it just hasn’t come off in any large capacity.

Now those good intentions are coming off big time and, while it is indeed Giroud who has been basking in the spotlight, he wouldn’t be able to get there if his shadow didn’t prop him up on occasion.

This new sense of relevance with Lucas couldn’t come at a better time, either, as Danny Welbeck is fresh back and looking for action. Suddenly the striking options are getting exciting in that we don’t know what to expect. We have options and a lot of them have a ton to prove.

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This is the Lucas that Deportivo La Coruna saw a lot of. Now if we can find more time for him and more opportunities, he can step out of that shadow and into the light himself.