Lucas Perez Shows He Can Be Arsenal’s Secret Weapon over Festive Period

There were plenty of reasons for Arsenal to be satisfied with their night’s work in Basel. Their thumping 4-1 victory was positive enough, but Paris Saint-Germain’s surprise 2-2 draw with Ludogorets Razgrad also meant that this result was enough for the Gunners to top Champions League Group A.

Arsene Wenger will be delighted with the way he was able to rotate his side and maintain momentum—and no one impressed more than Lucas Perez.

The Spaniard, who was making his first Champions League start, ended the night with a hat-trick. It’s a tremendous feat, and one that could kickstart the Arsenal career of a player whose progress thus far has been hindered by injury and a lack of opportunities. 

When Lucas joined Arsenal from Deportivo La Coruna, it was expected that he would take up the central-striking berth originally earmarked for Jamie Vardy. Like Vardy, Lucas was a late-bloomer who relied on pace and movement to forge a career as a No. 9. 

However, Lucas did not arrive until the very end of the transfer window, and Wenger had already had to employ a temporary fix by using Alexis Sanchez as the spearhead of his attack. The Gunners boss was so encouraged by Alexis’ performances that he ended up sticking with it, and Lucas began to look a little like a spare part—especially once Olivier Giroud returned to fitness.

Against Basel, Lucas was named in the right-wing role ordinarily occupied by Theo Walcott. Walcott has managed to plunder plenty of goals himself from that channel this season, and Lucas also seemed at home in that position. 

That shouldn’t come as any great surprise—it’s an area of the field he spent much of the early part of his career in before developing into a central striker. In Arsenal’s system, it’s a particularly interesting position—with Alexis frequently dropping deep, there’s an onus on the right-sided attacker to make runs beyond the centre-forward and into central areas.

Lucas exploited that brilliantly against Basel. He was helped in no small part by another understudy, Kieran Gibbs. Gibbs is certainly Arsenal’s second-choice left-back, but whenever he has been called upon to replace Nacho Monreal this season, he has performed well. With Gabriel Paulista, who is not a natural full-back, operating on the opposite flank, Gibbs was always likely to …

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