Full name Lucas Pérez Martínez Playing position Years Team Nationality Spanish | Place of birth A Coruña, Spain Number 9 Height 1.8 m Weight 73 kg | |
Date of birth (1988-09-10) 10 September 1988 (age 28) Current team Arsenal F.C. (#9 / Forward) Similar Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi, Alexis Sánchez, Alex Iwobi, Olivier Giroud Profiles | ||
Lucas Pérez Martínez (born 10 September 1988), known simply as Lucas, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for English club Arsenal as a forward.
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Atlético / Rayo
Lucas was born in A Coruña, Galicia. After appearing for three different clubs as a youth he moved to Madrid and joined Atlético Madrid's C-team, playing two seasons in Tercera División. In the 2009 summer he signed with Rayo Vallecano, helping the reserves promote from the same level in his first year.
In the 2010–11 season, Lucas contributed with five games and one goal (in a 3–0 home win against Real Valladolid on 6 November 2010) as Rayo returned to La Liga after eight years. He continued to be mainly registered with the B side, however.
Karpaty Lviv
On 17 January 2011, free agent Lucas signed a three-year contract with Ukrainian Premier League team FC Karpaty Lviv. He scored his first goal for the club on 17 July, against FC Chornomorets Odesa in a 1–1 draw.
Lucas netted a hat-trick on 4 November 2012 in a 4–0 home win over FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, including a long-distance volley from a corner kick delivery. In January 2013 he joined fellow league club FC Dynamo Kyiv on loan for the remainder of the season, and later labelled his experience as "a nightmare".
PAOK / Deportivo
On 5 July 2013, Lucas signed on a fee of €700,000 a three-year contract with Superleague Greece team PAOK FC. He scored his first competitive goal on 17 August, contributing to a 3–0 home success over Skoda Xanthi FC, and on 24 November he equalised in a 3–1 win over Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in the Derby of Northern Greece; he also helped to a runner-up run in the national cup, losing the decisive match to Panathinaikos FC.
On 18 July 2014, Lucas returned to Spain and joined his newly promoted hometown side Deportivo de La Coruña in a one-year loan deal, with a buyout clause. He scored in his first official appearance, having started in a 3–0 home win against Valencia CF on 19 October which also marked his La Liga debut; the following matchday he was replaced in the 15th minute of a 0–0 away draw against RCD Espanyol, due to a knee injury.
Lucas only returned to action in January of the following year, appearing 12 minutes in a 4–0 home loss against FC Barcelona. On 23 May, against the same opponent at the Camp Nou, he helped Dépor come from behind by scoring in the 67th minute of a 2–2 draw in the last round that prevented relegation.
On 23 July 2015, in his first competitive match upon his return to PAOK, against NK Lokomotiva for the second preliminary round of the UEFA Europa League, Lucas scored the opener after Róbert Mak's shot was saved, in an eventual 6–0 home success. One week later, against FC Spartak Trnava for the same competition, he netted the game's only goal in the first leg.
On 12 August 2015, Lucas signed a permanent four-year deal with Deportivo. On 12 December, he took his season tally to 11 goals in only 15 games, helping to a 2–2 draw at Barcelona.
Lucas totalled a career-best 17 goals at the end of the campaign, eventually helping his team escape relegation again.
Arsenal
On 27 August 2016, Arsène Wenger said that Lucas had completed a medical examination in order to join Arsenal after the paperwork was done. Three days later the transfer was confirmed by the club, for a reported fee of £17.1 million. He made his competitive debut in the 2–1 Premier League home win over Southampton on 10 September, which coincided with both his birthday and that of teammate Laurent Koscielny, whom he assisted for his team's equaliser.
On 20 September 2016, during an EFL Cup away match against Nottingham Forest, Lucas scored his first goals for the Gunners, grabbing a brace in an eventual 4–0 triumph. On 6 December, he contributed with three goals in 39 minutes to a 4–1 away win over FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League group stage, helping Arsenal win the group.
On 3 January 2017, Lucas netted for the first time in the domestic league, helping his team come back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at Bournemouth.
On 28 January, he provided an assist to Danny Welbeck's first brace against Southampton in a 5–0 away FA Cup victory.