Lucas Perez allowed to leave Deportivo La Coruna squad as Arsenal move nears

Arsenal are a step closer to completing a move for Deportivo La Coruna forward Lucas Perez after he was omitted from the squad travelling to Seville for their clash against Real Betis on Friday (26 August). The Gunners have agreed to meet his €20m (£17m) release clause and beat Everton to the signing of the Spanish forward.

Arsene Wenger had indicated earlier in the summer that he is keen to add another forward to provide backup to Olivier Giroud and the club were linked with a move for a number of forwards. The French manager failed with a move for Jamie Vardy and was priced out of a move for Alexandre Lacazette, but has succeeded in convincing the Deportivo striker – who prefers to be called only by his first name Lucas – to move to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

The 27-year-old forward, who had an impressive 2015/16 campaign, where he scored 17 goals in 36 La Liga appearances, was initially included in the match day squad for their game against Betis, but was allowed to drop out after the north London club made their interest concrete. According to The Sun, Arsenal have agreed to pay the full fee upfront, after initially suggesting a two-year installment.

"Lucas, with permission of the club, falls from the squad for the match against Betis," a statement read on Deportivo's official site.

Meanwhile, the Gunners have also made a breakthrough in negotiations with Valencia over a move for Shkodran Mustafi with BBC Sport reporting that they have agreed a deal worth around £35m. The double signing will significantly boost the Arsenal squad as they seek their first win in the Premier League this season.

The £52m double deal for Mustafi and Lucas will take Arsenal's spending close to the £100m mark for the summer after the club forked out close to £40m to sign Granit Xhaka, Rob Holding and Takuma Asano earlier in the summer, with the bulk of the fee being spent on the Switzerland international.