Deportivo la Coruna manager Pepe Mel says transfer of Arsenal forward Lucas Perez to be completed next week

Deportivo la Coruna manager Pepe Mel has revealed that he expects the club to confirm the signing of Lucas Perez by next week. He had a conversation with the club President Tino Fernandez, who has given him word of the impending signing before the end of the transfer window.

Arsene Wenger has confirmed that wantaway forward Lucas Perez will be allowed to leave Arsenal this summer due to a "congestion of strikers" at The Emirates Stadium. The 28-year-old joined the Gunners from Deportivo last summer but was rarely given a chance to establish himself in north London, and Arsenal have told him that he will be allowed to leave if they receive a respectable offer.

Perez started just twice in the Premier League last season and did not see a minute of action from March onwards. However, his miseries may be coming to an end with Mel confirming that a deal for the striker is on the horizon. However, there is no confirmation if the transfer will be a loan or a permanent one, with the forward also mooted for a loan move back to Spain.

" Tino Fernandez has told me that Lucas Perez will be here next week, and he is very stubborn," said Mel in a press conference, as quoted by Spanish publication Eldesmarque. "The president is a bit stupid and he said yes , and I have no choice but to believe him. If Lucas is coming, a goalkeeper is not going to come now , that's what they tell me," he added.

The Gunners have successfully confirmed the transfer of Gabriel to Valencia and are looking to move on a few more players this window to trim their wage bill and make room for potential signings later in the window. Valencia announced the £10m ($12.8m) signing of the defender from north London who put pen to paper on a five-year contract at the Mestalla Stadium on Friday (18 August).