It took some time didn’t it, 4 years in fact, but Arsenal have finally found themselves a striker capable of coming in and giving Olivier Giroud a run for his money.
After Lucas Perez was announced as an official Arsenal player on Tuesday morning there were very mixed reactions with many fans unsure of who he even was.
Most supporters were just happy to see us sign a natural centre forward, but on reflection it looks as if Mr. Wenger has got himself an absolute steal at just £17.6million.
Perez was on the Gunners radar all summer and we just didn’t know about it, so naturally we’re going to be sceptical about how well he can perform in a red & white jersey.
Olivier Giroud has been fighting to get back to full fitness after Alexis has stepped into his place for Arsenal’s opening three Premier League games, but all that is about to change.
Lucas not only is a genuine threat to the comfort Giroud has found himself in, but he’ll also give Alexis the ability to return to his most loved position out on the left flank.
We’ve picked out all of the statistics from each of Giroud and Lucas’ 2015/16 campaign in their respective divisions in order to give us a bit of a glimpse into the future.
1 – Attempts On Goal
Probably the one that’s going to matter most when you’re a striker, it’s kind’ve what you’re on the pitch to do after all…
It’s really quite amazing how matched these two are when it comes to shots in the league, Giroud has one more than Lucas with 101, but accuracy is a different story.
In those 101 shots, Giroud has found the target on 54% of the time which isn’t bad considering how tight defences now have to be in order to close down the Gunners intricate passing.
Lucas comes out slightly better with 59% of his shots being accurate, so perhaps a steady suggestion to show he’s better capable of keeping a cool head in front of goal.
That’s when he actually gets in front of goal though, because 34 of those 100 shots have come from outside the area, something that Arsenal are scared to do to upset the chances of a perfect goal.
It’s plain to see when Giroud has made just six attempts from outside the box, which tells us his conversion rate is coming from the use of set pieces and easy tuck-aways.
He may not seem like it but Giroud is a goal-poacher, and although Lucas has the confidence to shoot he’ll soon have to learn that a lot of the build-play will leave him as a sitting duck in the penalty area.