Arsenal: Lucas Perez Can Make Up For Welbeck Decision

Arsenal eliminated the potential use of Danny Welbeck by sending him out with the reserves, but Lucas Perez can more than make up for it.

I was more than a little bit disappointed when the Arsenal reserves sent Danny Welbeck out for 70 minutes of play, eliminating all possibilities of him playing against Sutton. I had this grand Welbeck hat trick built up in my head.

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The logic behind the move was that the pitch was too “plastic” for Welbeck, having just returned from an injury.

Practically speaking, that makes absolute sense. No point in risking Welbeck when he can be such a big piece moving forward. Especially in a match that shouldn’t need his presence.

But in terms of my own personal recovery from that Bayern Munich loss? I wanted to send out the best possible squad to stick it to Sutton.

Logic won out.

That being said, there is still an ample chance to make up for the Welbeck decision in the form of Lucas Perez. Both Lucas and Welbeck are in the same boat, mostly. They are watching Arsenal work their way out of most major competitions and not being given a chance to prove that they can do better than the flailing first-team members favored over them.

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Although Lucas’s position has to be even more frustrating. He has already stated his confusion over and over as to why he is even here. Despite showing such insane promise, as he seems to improve with each performance, he is continuously pushed to the side for the likes of Alex Iwobi, who is struggling immensely, or Theo Walcott.

Lucas Perez will play against Sutton and he figures to be the main attraction. Depending on what Wenger does with Giroud, Lucas will start either out wide or up front, but the Spaniard has already shown a great connection with Giroud and seeing the two deployed side by side again will easily brush over Welbeck’s absense.

Sutton are going to be ready for a fight, but it’s no secret that they won’t be able to match the technical ability that the Gunners employ, and Lucas has a lot of that technical ability. His slick on-the-ball skills should provide plenty of entertainment and, given his track record and the opponent, it would be tough to imagine an outcome where Lucas doesn’t score a couple.

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Whether another solid performance will alter his standing on the unmovable Wenger totem pole remains to be seen.