MX23RW : Sunday, January 5 00:25:53| >> :120:9830:9830:

Lucas Perez inspired by legendary Arsenal players of the past

New Arsenal striker Lucas Perez reveals that he "really admired" Jose Antonio Reyes when growing up, and now hopes to follow in his footsteps by winning the title.

Lucas Perez has admitted that he is inspired to achieve great things at Arsenal during his time at the club as he looks to follow in the steps of some past legends.

The 27-year-old striker particularly looked up to Jose Antonio Reyes when growing up - a member of the Gunners' unbeaten side of 2003-04 when last lifting the Premier League title.

"Well, obviously everyone knows about Arsenal's legendary players, such as [Thierry] Henry and [Dennis] Bergkamp," he told Arsenal's official website. "I really admired Reyes, who's a fellow Spaniard.

"There's [Robert] Pires and [Patrick] Vieira too - that was a wonderful time for Arsenal and everyone knows all those players. People know all about them in Spain and that history of having legends at the club is part of the reason Arsenal are so popular."

Perez, who is thought to have set the North London outfit back around £17m when joining from Deportivo La Coruna earlier this week, is also relishing the chance to link up with some of the club's Spanish contingent.

"[Hector] Bellerin said hello and so did [Santi] Cazorla - they were both here at the training ground," he added.

"I've seen them play and things but I don't know them personally because I only started playing in La Liga two years ago, by which time they'd certainly come here, so I never got the chance to meet them in person."

Perez scored a total of 17 goals in the Spanish top flight last season, including a particularly fruitful spell when hitting seven in seven.

ID:280504: cacheID:280504:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2502:
Written by
Daniel Lewis
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Mesut Oezil of Arsenal (L) and Olivier Giroud of Arsenal look dejected after conceding a goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on November 8, 2015 in London, England.
Read Next:
Vieira: 'Arsenal lack physical presence'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool18143145172845
2Arsenal20117239182140
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1911442619737
4Chelsea20106439241536
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle20105534221235
6Manchester CityMan City2010463627934
7Bournemouth209653023733
8Aston Villa209563032-232
9Fulham197842825329
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
11Brentford208393835327
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs20731042301224
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham206592439-1523
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd196492126-522
15Crystal Palace204972128-721
16Everton193881525-1017
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1944113142-1116
18Ipswich TownIpswich1936101833-1515
19Leicester CityLeicester2035122344-2114
20Southampton2013161244-326


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!