Deportivo La Coruna to re-sign Lucas Perez

Lucas Perez is set to end his one-year nightmare of getting paid to affordably live in London and occasionally play football for Arsenal. The forward, who has been linked with a move away from the Emirates for nearly the entirety of 2017, will re-sign for Deportivo La Coruna, according to their manager, Pepe Mel. Mel, who managed West Bromwich Albion, confirmed that the club’s president told him that Lucas would rejoin the club. Whether it is for the €15m that Arsenal wanted, or on a loan deal with an option to buy as has been suggested recently is unclear. What is apparent is that a breakthrough has been made, and Arsenal, who are selling Gabriel to Valencia, are starting to clear out unwanted squad players.

Lucas started only 9 of the 21 games he played for Arsenal last year, scoring 7 times. While he seemingly contributed when on the pitch, he never really won the trust of Arsene Wenger, and didn’t play after the 5-0 FA Cup win over Lincoln, and was an unused substitute in the FA Cup final. With Alexandre Lacazette in the team, and Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck, Lucas’ main competitors, pushed to a lesser role, there was essentially no place in the side for him, and it was a matter of when and not if he left Arsenal.