Arsenal has been crying out for a new striker for the past few seasons and just before transfer deadline the Gunners purchased a new striker in Spaniard Lucas Perez. The 27-year-old is a late bloomer and arrived in north London from Deportivo La Coruna for £17million.
Two of his main assets are pace and his versatility. That season Lucas surprised everybody by hitting 18 goals in La Liga with Deportivo.
He had previously struggled to make his mark in the past, having endured spells with the likes of Rayo Vallecano in Spain, Karpaty Lviv in Ukraine and PAOK in Greece, before returning to Spain with Deportivo in 2014 initially on loan.
His most prolific season prior to last season, came in his two-year spell at Karpaty, when he scored 14 goals in 51 appearances. Nothing earlier in his career suggested that he would be prolific with Deportivo last season.
However, according to new teammate Shkodran Mustafi, who played against him in Spain while with Valencia, Lucas is a difficult opponent to come up against.
Perez is a different sort of player to Arsenal’s first-choice striker Olivier Giroud, who offers more of a physical presence, but is far less mobile. Perez like his new teammates Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez offers directness and pace.
However, he seems more adept at playing as a lone striker than his fellow Arsenal teammates. Both Sanchez and Walcott have played as a lone front man and it has yielded mixed results so far. The pair looks more effective when they play in wide positions.
Lucas gives Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger another central striking option. He offers a different dimension. If he can rediscover his form from last season in the English top-flight then he could very well be a massive hit in north London and help the Gunners achieve success in the process.