Lucas Pérez: Is he back again?

[tap-in]

He could even be a bit of a fvcker to deal with, or have an attitude. Who knows?... I know his football has been good.

Yeh, anything is possible, I just don't think its all football related, if it was we would keep him.

 

[Jury]

£17m though... That's still a lot for us. Might take a few more £50m buys to change that.

 

[GDeep™]

Would've played more had he not got small injuries at crucial times. Oh well.

 

[Big Poppa]

Let's be honest he was bought as an insurance policy against perenially injured Welbeck and Walcott and was treated as such.

Whether or not he was good enough in training, he was certainly good enough in games. Dropped after a hat-trick in the CL, dropped after decisive goals against Bournemouth etc.

 

[A_G]

I hear this a lot about players, but they should surely be judged by what they do on matchday when they get chances, and Lucas has either done well or given every indication that he can offer something. Obviously if you're a lazy **** then you've blown it on the training ground and dont deserve a look.

Compare that to Sanogo, who was rat sh!t when it mattered on matchday... Do you believe he was doing something so special on the training ground that he warranted starts?

Of course, I'm speculating on the training stuff but I can't see what else it would be? It goes against everything we know about Wenger to spend £17m on a player and then never play him. He picked up 2 big injuries and a few smaller ones in between; tough situation for Wenger because he couldn't trust a player who hadn't settled but it's hard to acclimatise to when you're unavailable so often.

And BTW I've read several accounts of Sanogo being incredible in training. We heard similar about the likes of Fabianski and Diaby, clearly it doesn't always carry over to the games.

 

[Jury]

And BTW I've read several accounts of Sanogo being incredible in training. We heard similar about the likes of Fabianski and Diaby, clearly it doesn't always carry over to the games.

I did too, but I suspect Wenger was behind it! Flappy and Diaby have had immense games for us...

 

[A_G]

Flappy and Diaby have had immense games for us...

But they weren't consistently good enough.

 

[Big Poppa]

In fairness AG, when 90% of your chances to play 90 minutes occur during the league cup or in the middle of an injury crisis, it's tough to show anything like your best.

Part of the reason I disagree with this approach of signing medium-to-good back up options who need to be integrated into the club as opposed to upgrading existing first team options and relegating existing ones to the bench.

 

[Rocky]

Would've played more had he not got small injuries at crucial times. Oh well.

True. That Reading thug who assaulted his ankle in the EFL did him no favours. Otherwise he could have displaced Walcott. It hasn't worked out for Lucas but let's not forget, this type of thing is happening to the big 3 clubs too...

Man City - Bony, Mangala, Rodwell, Sinclair etc
Man Utd - Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Di Maria etc
Chelsea - Cuadrado, Salah etc

 

[Gooner n Proud]

True. That Reading thug who assaulted his ankle in the EFL did him no favours. Otherwise he could have displaced Walcott. It hasn't worked out for Lucas but let's not forget, this type of thing is happening to the big 3 clubs too...

Man City - Bony, Mangala, Rodwell, Sinclair etc
Man Utd - Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Di Maria etc
Chelsea - Cuadrado, Salah etc

Who are these big three clubs? ????

When was the last time Manchester United finished above Arsenal?
Where did Chelsea finish the in 2016?

I can't fathom why UK football fans and pundits love to paint the two Manchester Clubs and Chelsea as the big three as if their the English equivalent of Spains Barca, Real and Athletico.
Arsenal are on the same level if not superior to all of them.

 

[FinnGooner]

Who are these big three clubs? ????

When was the last time Manchester United finished above Arsenal?
Where did Chelsea finish the in 2016?

I can't fathom why UK football fans and pundits love to paint the two Manchester Clubs and Chelsea as the big three as if their the English equivalent of Spains Barca, Real and Athletico.
Arsenal are on the same level if not superior to all of them.

Consistency-wise perhaps we are but those teams have all won the PL title more or less recently and, like it or not, that's the measuring stick when it comes to comparing English teams. PL titles count. Top four finishes and FA cups not so much. Also, our yearly self-capitulation in the CL hasn't done us any favours. Since the year ManU were in the CL final and the next year when Chelsea won it, we haven't even made it out of the first knockout round. City of course has a laughable CL record but they've been one of the best performers in the PL recently.

So there you go. Of course as an Arsenal fan it's not easy to accept those views but from a unbiased point of view it is justified to consider those three clubs bigger than us. But as you say, it's certainly not as clear of a slam dunk as in Spain

 

[Rocky]

Who are these big three clubs? ????

When was the last time Manchester United finished above Arsenal?
Where did Chelsea finish the in 2016?

I can't fathom why UK football fans and pundits love to paint the two Manchester Clubs and Chelsea as the big three as if their the English equivalent of Spains Barca, Real and Athletico.
Arsenal are on the same level if not superior to all of them.

The three big clubs in England at this time are the three clubs who are dominating the league and the transfer market.

There is no trophy for finishing above Man Utd. How many times have Man Utd, Chelsea and Man City won the league between them since 2004?

Chelsea finished 10th in 2016, sandwiched between two title wins. They got Conte out of downing tools and forcing Mourinho out. Now they've got Morata, whom I'd much rather watch play than Lukaku.

Man City are at the point where they are spending £120 million in one summer just on 3 fullbacks! The Mendy signing might end up indirectly blocking Arsenal's move for their main remaining target this summer. Forget about the way these teams hoover up and hoard talent at inflated prices - they're now financially doping other clubs like Monaco so much that it might prevent Arsenal from signing targets who want to join them!!!

Why don't you just go the whole way in your delusional state and start pointing out that Everton, Liverpool and Aston Villa are bigger clubs than Man City and Chelsea?

 

[Makingtrax]

Who are these big three clubs? ????

When was the last time Manchester United finished above Arsenal?
Where did Chelsea finish the in 2016?

I can't fathom why UK football fans and pundits love to paint the two Manchester Clubs and Chelsea as the big three as if their the English equivalent of Spains Barca, Real and Athletico.
Arsenal are on the same level if not superior to all of them.

They are the big three in terms of economics. That's why.

Wenger's made us compete with them for years which gives a misleading picture. A few years ago we would have been West Brom but for Wenger.

 

[Mark Tobias]

True. That Reading thug who assaulted his ankle in the EFL did him no favours. Otherwise he could have displaced Walcott. It hasn't worked out for Lucas but let's not forget, this type of thing is happening to the big 3 clubs too...

Man City - Bony, Mangala, Rodwell, Sinclair etc
Man Utd - Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Di Maria etc
Chelsea - Cuadrado, Salah etc

This is a good point and to me it signals that we are in a MUCH better position than we were 3-4 years ago.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

This situation certainly is a head scratcher, but if he leaves here then he's done his reputation no harm at all in my opinion, pulled out some good performances for us when called upon.

 

[Gooner n Proud]

Consistency-wise perhaps we are but those teams have all won the PL title more or less recently and, like it or not, that's the measuring stick when it comes to comparing English teams. PL titles count. Top four finishes and FA cups not so much. Also, our yearly self-capitulation in the CL hasn't done us any favours. Since the year ManU were in the CL final and the next year when Chelsea won it, we haven't even made it out of the first knockout round. City of course has a laughable CL record but they've been one of the best performers in the PL recently.

So there you go. Of course as an Arsenal fan it's not easy to accept those views but from a unbiased point of view it is justified to consider those three clubs bigger than us. But as you say, it's certainly not as clear of a slam dunk as in Spain

The fact we've been consistently at the top of the table for the last two decades indicates that we are one of the best teams in the country, if not the best; due to that consistency which Chelsea and especially Manchester United have lacked in recent years, I think City have immensely underachieved given the money they've spent its insane the last time they were champions was in 2014.
Granted Recent Premier league and European titles is a telling factor for gauging the positioning of a club but there are more factors to consider also such as consistency in sustaining a top four position and Brand of football. Yes finances are another important thing but like I mentioned above City have forked out hundreds millions of pounds in the last four campaigns yet haven't come close to challenging for the league; we've been closer although not much better.

At the end of the day it all comes down to consistency, since January 2013 to now we'd definitely be minimum third in the table, therefore it is absolute foolishness in my opinion that every summer Arsenal are spoken of as if they're inferior to those other three clubs. We have financial clout, A top class manager, based in one of the greatest Cities on the continent and perennially attain European football.
Chelsea 11th in 2016 and Man Utd have ended up 5th, 6th, 7th in recent campaigns yet people still rate them superior to Arsenal who are always 4th minimum barring last season where we finished one point off fourth.

 

[Aevi]

Whatever happens with him, I respect what he's done here. He did good work with the opportunities he was given.

 

[GeorgiaGunner]

Who are these big three clubs? ????

When was the last time Manchester United finished above Arsenal?
Where did Chelsea finish the in 2016?

I can't fathom why UK football fans and pundits love to paint the two Manchester Clubs and Chelsea as the big three as if their the English equivalent of Spains Barca, Real and Athletico.
Arsenal are on the same level if not superior to all of them.

Chelsea won the league this year, and United are the most decorated club in the country (and the most popular in the world). Stop cherry-picking. Arsenal are in no way superior to either -- this post is exactly the sort that gets copied & pasted, then laughed at on other forums (and rightfully so).

 

[Sniper Mik]

Don't know where to post this but this is a nice gesture

 

[Lookin' for a new Baby]

Don't know where to post this but this is a nice gesture

Aw, I wish it had worked out better for him here.