‘I was betrayed by Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and now I’m plotting Gunners’ downfall’

Arsenal take on Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in the last 16 of the Champions League and the Gunners are set to come up against a familiar face following a surprise January transfer

Lucas Perez could be set to haunt Arsenal after a gesture from Arsene Wenger left him furious.

The Spanish striker was meant to be a shrewd signing for the Gunners back in 2016. After a brilliant 17-goal season for Deportivo La Coruna, Perez arrived at the Emirates Stadium for a fee of £17m.

But it very quickly turned into a nightmare for the forward, who scored just one Premier League goal for the North London side, albeit was on the scoresheet a further six times in cup competitions.

Already vying with Alexandre Lacazette and Olivier Giroud for a position in the Arsenal attack, Perez was then shoved even further down the pecking order in January following the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund.

But things were soon set to get even worse as Perez saw his number nine shirt stripped off of him and handed over to Lacazette, a decision that infuriated the Spaniard.

Speaking to La Voz De Galicia at the time, he said: “I feel cheated. In February I was not allowed to leave for a move to China with the promise that I would play more and after that I had even fewer opportunities. But the shirt number is an ugly gesture.

“On our pre-season trip, Lacazette asked the boss and he accepted. I was only told afterwards. Last year [Wenger] told me that he understood why I was upset. I think this season things will get worse, so help me out.”

“Since I have been a professional footballer, I’ve felt happiest in Deportivo, surrounded by my family and my friends,” he added. “Put yourself in my place.

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“I know I have chances to play for the national team and at the World Cup. But for that I have to play and I have to be happy. That’s why I want to go back to Coruna. Arsenal are not behaving well with me.

“To take the shirt number without telling me and to give it to a companion – it seems to me that it is the last straw. I can’t continue this way. I have given everything, but that has not been reciprocated, so I can’t stand it any longer. I want to leave and be happy.”

Perez eventually got his wish of an exit from the Emirates Stadium as he rejoined former side Deportivo on loan, scoring nine goals across the campaign. But he would soon return to the Premier League with a £4m move to West Ham, Arsenal losing around £13m on his signing within the space of two years.

Perez’s career has turned into a journeyman one since having counted Alavez, Elche, Cadiz among his employers, while he also enjoyed a fourth spell with Deportivo as he helped the side to promotion back to the second tier of Spanish football last season.

He left the club once again in January after asking to leave for “personal reasons”. The now 36-year-old surprisingly turned up at PSV just a few weeks later on a free transfer and is now facing an awkward reunion with his former club Arsenal in the Champions League.

Of course, the man in the dugout has changed with Mikel Arteta now at the helm. Fortunately for Arsenal, Perez will be banned from taking to the pitch against his former employers with PSV having missed the squad deadline to register him for the Champions League.

But there’s no doubt that he will be doing all he can to give his new teammates the lowdown on the Gunners on the training pitch. And he will be keeping his fingers crossed that PSV can find a way to an eye-catching Champions League win after the way he was treated by Arsenal.

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