Deportivo chose to sign him permanently last summer and the striker repaid the club’s trust by scoring 19 goals in all competitions over the course of the 2015/16 season.
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The LaLiga side won’t receive all the money, however.
Explaining why the 24-year-old was at the top of his target list, Wenger said: “We needed a centre back because of the long-term injuries we have”.
Despite missing out on the full sum, Depor will see the transfer as an excellent means of alleviating their debt problems; the club paid just €1.5 million for Pérez one year ago.
With time running out to add to his squad, Wenger settled on the 27-year-old Lucas – a scorer of 17 goals last season.
New signing Lucas Perez has revealed that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger made an effort to buy him in the January transfer window. Everything was positive, so I was convinced very fast. He has good experience.
Within hours, Arsenal had also re-shuffled its defensive options by signing center half Mustafi for a reported fee of 35 million pounds ($45.7 million), and sending Calum Chambers on loan to promoted Premier League club Middlesbrough.
“I did not see Per for a long time because he quit worldwide football but I talked to Mesut”, Mustafi was quoted as saying by Sky Sports on Monday.
“I have to admit that in the first few days there was an undeniable nervousness”, Xhaka told Appenzeller Zeitung – per Sky Sports.
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown reckons Perez will bring a similar style of play to Jamie Vardy at Arsenal, meaning Arsenal could have a real player on their hands.
He’s expecting a different challenge to the one he experienced in La Liga.
“I prefer playing as a striker but I have no problem playing anywhere up front”.
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According to Daily Mail, as many as 22 clubs are in the mix to acquire Wilshere on loan, including various Premier League sides. He was a part of Germany’s world cup winning squad in 2014 and gained prominence there onwards.
