Arsenal signing this pacy £25m-rated wide attacker would be a brilliant move by Emery – Here is why

Arsenal Opinion: Ayoze Perez can actually prove to be a good signing for the Gunners

According to The Sun, Arsenal have joined Serie A giants Inter Milan and Napoli in the race to sign £25million-rated Ayoze Perez from Newcastle United in the summer.

The Sun also understands that Gunners manager Unai Emery is expected to work under serious financial constraints in the summer transfer window and the Spaniard is eyeing up a host of low-fee transfers, as he aims to overhaul the squad that he inherited from former manager Arsene Wenger.

Perez doesn’t have an awe-inspiring goalscoring record for Newcastle by any means but the Spaniard has netted a career-best 12 goals in the Premier League this season.

Following his hat-trick against Southampton last month, the 25-year-old admitted that he would be open to leaving Tyneside for a new challenge at the end of the season, prompting the likes of Napoli and Inter Milan to come calling for his services. (h/t The Sun)

Perez, who joined Newcastle back in 2014 from Spanish second-tier side Tenerife, has spent almost the entire developmental phase of his career at Tyneside, although he hasn’t quite evolved into a prolific goalscorer that the Magpies would have hoped for.

Having accumulated 47 goals and 17 assists from 194 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions till date, Perez boasts of a mediocre scoring record for the Magpies.

It would be unfair to say that the Spaniard has been a failure in English football given that he came in as a complete rookie five years back. Perez has shown plenty of promise but one cannot help but feel that he has not lived up to his full potential till now.

Perez has enjoyed a few purple patches at Tyneside over the course of five seasons but the 25-year-old has largely blown hot and cold.

It has been pretty much the same for him this season as well, given that he was criticised heavily for his lacklustre displays earlier in the campaign but came back strongly over the last few months to rack up a career-best tally of 12 goals.

To put things into perspective, Ayoze Perez, with his rather uninspiring strike rate, looks like a bit of an underwhelming signing for Arsenal on paper. The fans at north London have every reason to believe that their team must look for better players in the transfer window in order to challenge for silverware.

However, if the Gunners do firm up their interest in Perez and if the deal does eventually materialize, the Spaniard can actually prove to be a useful squad player at the Emirates under Unai Emery.

Tactically speaking, Perez offers a lot in terms of versatility. The Spaniard’s guile, footballing intelligence, tenacity and subtle movement make him a perfect fit for the role of a supporting striker in a No.10 role, while he also has the sharpness, agility and above-average dribbling skills to play out wide on the left.

The Spaniard has the creativity to work the channels in the final third and his presence can certainly add a bit more firepower to Arsenal’s attack

Arsenal currently do not have too much depth in their attacking options, and given that they might have to offload underperforming big-earners like Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil in the summer to trim their wage bill, Ayoze Perez presents a viable alternative at a reasonable price.

Moreover, they are set to lose the services of Danny Welbeck.

Other factors that should make Ayoze Perez a good fit for Unai Emery’s system are his work ethic and stamina.

The Spaniard is adept at linking up with his teammates in the final third and often catches the opposition off-guard with intelligent runs inside the penalty area, while also possessing the awareness to drop deep in order to get involved in the build-up play.

He contributes an awful lot defensively as well, tracking back to help out the defenders and winning possession back for his team to initiate counter-attacks.

In fact, Perez has averaged an impressive 1.6 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game in the Premier League, numbers which should definitely please Unai Emery.

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Still only 25, Perez has plenty of time to make improvements to his game and a move a bigger club might just get the best out of him and help him realise his true potential.

Newcastle, as a team, have underperformed over the last few years and it would be fair to say that Perez has done well to stick around and rack up some good performances.

To sum it up, Arsenal should look at him as a good enough squad player and splash the cash to strike a deal for him this summer.