Arsenal

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: 'Lucas Perez deserves to play'

By Danielle Joynson, Staff Reporter | 21 February 2017

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits that he wants to play Lucas Perez more often, but competition for places is making it difficult.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has claimed that Lucas Perez "deserves a go" in the team, but admits that it is difficult due to competition for places.

The 28-year-old scored his seventh goal of the season when he netted the opener in a 2-0 victory over Sutton United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday night.

Perez has made 18 appearances in all competitions, but just two starts in the Premier League since his £17m move from Deportivo La Coruna last summer.

The Spaniard has been directly involved in nine goals in his last eight starts, and while Wenger has admitted that he wants to play the forward more often, the manager has suggested that others are higher in the pecking order.

"He is pushing on the door but I have many strikers," the Daily Star quotes Wenger as saying. "I have [Olivier] Giroud, [Danny] Welbeck, [Theo] Walcott, Alexis [Sanchez] and Lucas.

"It is true that he deserves a go because he scores goals and is a good player."

Perez's agent Rodrigo Fernandez Llovelle recently claimed that his client will leave Arsenal at the end of the season because he has had "no chance" under Wenger.