Arsenal: Lucas Perez redemption an easy story to follow

Arsenal are prepared to hand Lucas Perez a second chance. Looking back, this entire story line is an easy one to see and understand.

Arsenal handing Luacs Perez a second chance may not be something that a lot of fans look at and lick their chops about. It’s not a flashy new deal. If anything, it’s a handout to someone that some may thing doesn’t deserve it.

But that’s where those ‘some’ would be wrong. Because when you look at the trajectory of this story line regarding Lucas Perez, it’s easy to see where he came from and why he deserves this second chance.

Lucas has always been just shy of hitting it big time. He was caught in a clogged Atletico Madrid system, once highly thought of in their academy.

He joined Deportivo La Coruna and began his legacy with that club, finding his way to goal-scoring success and, a bit later in his career, reasserting his value on the footballing stage.

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Arsenal took that opportunity and welcomed the Spaniard to their midst. We know what happened then. He was never given his fair shot, but every chance he did get, looked pretty inspiring. He is a smart striker. He’s not just a finisher or a target man, but an Alexandre Lacazette kind of striker, who links up play and can create for himself.

It looked like a good fit. And even throughout the drama of not playing enough, Lucas kept saying that all he wanted was to succeed at the Emirates. This was the big break he had waited so patiently for.

When he was forced to return to Deportivo, it had to feel like a failure. Here he was, going back to where it all began, a different player than he once was, older and no more established. In that sense, it’s no surprise that he didn’t do well with Deportivo on the second go around. He had too much stacked against him mentally.

You can’t judge his value based on what he did in his return to Deportivo. Judge him instead on how he handled his rare chances early into his North London career. Because that is the Lucas we will see if he is indeed given a second chance.

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Motivation is a powerful tool. Lucas is going to be more motivated than ever because this really will be his last chance to make it on a bigger stage.

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