Arsene Wenger Talks Lucas Perez After Arsenal Striker Scores Brace vs. Forest

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said striker Lucas Perez uses his left foot “a bit too much” after he got off the mark for the club on Tuesday. 

The striker netted twice against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup as the Gunners secured an impressive 4-0 win.

Afterwards, Wenger had words of praise for the 28-year-old, although he also provided advice on some areas in which he can potentially improve, per Sean Taylor of the Press Association (h/t MailOnline):

"

He did well. He's quick, he's determined. He uses well his left foot—a bit too much in my taste. He doesn't use his right enough. Overall he's like all the left-footed players, you know.

But I like his second goal because he has shown not only technique but determination and fight for the ball and finishing and I like that. The part he played in the goal of Oxlade-Chamberlain shows his awareness of other people and it is intelligent play.

"

Perez posted the following on his Twitter feed after scoring his first goals for the club:

As well as Arsenal’s new striker, another summer signing, Granit Xhaka, netted for the Gunners before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain completed the rout after an assist from the No. 9.

Perez made the switch to the north London club in the summer from Deportivo La Coruna, and prior to Tuesday’s contest, he had only started one game for the Gunners, with Alexis Sanchez recently used at the point of the attack. But the Spanish striker showed some of his capabilities at the City Ground. 

While he struggled to get into the game early on, once the match opened up and his confidence was lifted by his 60th-minute penalty to make it 2-0, Perez caused a lot of problems with his forceful running and cute movement—something that was epitomised by his fine second goal. His left foot, as Wenger noted, is very strong, too.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Obviously, it’ll be a big relief to grab his first goals for the club, and the Arsenal Twitter account paid tribute to Perez’s two-goal performance against Forest:

Now the hope for Wenger and the Arsenal supporters is that Perez can kick on. During his time with Depor, he tended to go on runs of goalscoring, and the manner in which he came alive after netting on Tuesday points to a player who feeds off confidence.

The Premier League will naturally represent a big step up for the forward in terms of intensity of play and the quality of opponent. However, those Arsenal fans itching to see more of Perez will be encouraged by the way he finished the Forest match and will be hoping he can heed Wenger’s advice on improving his right foot.