Wenger urges patience with Perez

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger called for forward Lucas Perez to be given time to find his feet in the Premier League.

The Spaniard, a £17.1million signing from Deportivo La Coruna in August, made his debut for the club in a 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.

Perez played his part in Laurent Koscielny’s stunning opener, but Wenger urged patience with the 28-year-old.

“Let’s give [him] time,” the Frenchman told the club’s website.

“We have scored goals since the start of the season, but we bought one more striker because we thought we needed one more. Let’s give him time and not judge him too quickly.”

Perez scored 17 LaLiga goals for Deportivo last season for what was his best return in a single campaign in his career.

Wenger believes Perez can deliver goals for Arsenal, whose win sees them sitting sixth with seven points from four games.

“I think he got 17 goals last year. In the second half, I think he combined much better. It is not easy as well to start at home, the pressure is there for everybody and everybody has their eyes on them,” he said.

“You could see that especially with [Shkodran] Mustafi, because in the second half he was much more comfortable than in the first.”