Lucas Perez Rejected Barcelona, Didn't Want 'Another Misstep' After Arsenal Move

Alaves striker Lucas Perez has revealed he rejected Barcelona because he wanted to avoid a repeat of his experience at Arsenal.

The Blaugrana signed Martin Braithwaite from Leganes earlier in February after being granted permission to make an emergency signing following injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele.

Perez told Marca (h/t Goal's Robin Bairner) he was called by Barcelona and other clubs during the January transfer window, but he turned them down because he is "very settled" and "very happy" at Alaves.

He added:

"I didn't want to take another misstep, where I would not have opportunities, as happened to me in England. In no case did I plan to leave midseason, I want to stay here until the end.

"It is not the first time that Barcelona has called me, like other great clubs. The truth is that that does not distract me. What is clear to me is that I want to do well and I want to feel like a player again, as I am doing here, where they have given me love since day one."

Perez signed for Arsenal in 2016 on the back of a strong season with Deportivo La Coruna, in which he'd notched 19 goals and 11 assists in 39 matches.

He started the following campaign strongly, too, as he bagged a goal and an assist for Deportivo in the first game of the 2016-17 season before making the switch to the Gunners.

However, he made just 21 appearances for Arsenal that season, nine of which were starts.

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Despite his limited opportunities, he managed to contribute seven goals and five assists, but he was loaned back to Deportivo for the 2017-18 season before being sold to West Ham United.

He started just six times for the Hammers, scoring six goals, before Alaves bought him last summer.

While he did not have a happy time in the Premier League, he said the move out of Spain "helped me to grow on a personal and football level" and believes "it's something that all players should try."

He evidently wasn't keen to repeat the experience of being a bit-part player, though.

The 31-year-old has made 24 La Liga appearances this season, starting 19 of them. He has 10 goals and five assists to his name:

His tally this season includes a stretch in which he scored for seven games in a row. Alaves have only scored 27 in total this season, so he's had a hand in over half of them.

He scored and assisted against Athletic Bilbao as Alaves recorded a 2-1 victory on Sunday:

Earlier in the month, he broke the deadlock against Eibar in another 2-1 win:

Perez has shown at both Arsenal and West Ham that he can contribute despite limited minutes on the pitch, and he has enjoyed a strong campaign with Alaves, so he could have been a shrewd choice for Barca given their circumstances.

Braithwaite had eight goals and one assist in 27 matches for Leganes this season, including six of their 18 goals in La Liga.

The Dane made a significant impact on his debut and had a hand in creating two goals for Barca as they beat Eibar 5-0 on Saturday. 

Although he was not credited with an assist in either case, it was his cross that Marko Dmitrovic parried into Lionel Messi's path for Barca's fourth and his shot that rebounded to Arthur from Dmitrovic for their fifth.