EPL 2016-17: Shkodran Mustafi backs Lucas Perez to succeed
New Arsenal signing Shkodran Mustafi has warned Premier League sides to beware of fellow Gunner Lucas Perez and believes that the striker has everything he needs to succeed at the London club.
The 24-year-old German defender has ensured Gunners fans that Perez will make defenders' lives 'uncomfortable' in the English top division. The German defender had played against the 27-year-old forward in the La Liga, where Perez plundered two goals against Mustafi's Valencia side.
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With The North London side taking on Southampton this weekend, the two Deadline Day recruits trained with the first-team on Wednesday for the first time. Both of them could make their Premier League debuts against the Saints.
"He is uncomfortable to play against”, said the German defender to the club’s website. "He's a good striker - he has everything a striker needs.”
At his age, the striker may not seem to be a typical Arsene Wenger signing, but he has certainly been backed by his new team-mate. Having played against him, Mustafi definitely knows all about the Spanish star, and the centre-back believes that he has all the attributes to make it big with the Gunners.
Perez, who likes to cut inside, and take long shots at the goal, also uses his strength to hold on to the ball and make key passes. Speaking about Perez’s style of play, Arsenal’s new defender told:
“He’s someone you can play well with. He doesn’t just run around and wait for someone to give him a pass to score a goal.
“He works a lot for the team as well and he creates chances.”
Mustafi also praised Perez for his positioning and added that the Spaniard had to be good to score in La Liga, “He’s in the right place at the right time, as he showed last year in La Liga. I played there for two years and I know it’s not that easy to score many goals in La Liga, because you have great defenders there as well.”
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The ex-Deportivo forward scored 17 goals in 36 La Liga appearances last season and arrived at the Emirates on the Deadline Day for £17m. However, the Arsenal boss has been heavily criticised, with many terming Perez as a panic buy.
Perez will be looking forward to prove his critics wrong when he gets the chance and with the support of his new team-mate, he should be confident of a good showing.