Lucas Perez looking forward to getting started with Arsenal

Lucas Perez has confirmed that there was interest from Arsenal at the start of the transfer window, but it was made concrete only recently. The Spanish forward completed the transfer from Deportivo de La Coruna on Tuesday (30 August) and is looking to getting started in the Premier League.

Arsene Wenger had made it clear midway through the summer transfer window that he is keen to add a forward to ease the burden on Olivier Giroud, but after failed attempts to sign Jamie Vardy and Alexandre Lacazette, the Gunners convinced the La Liga club to part with their top scorer from last season after meeting his €20m release clause.

Everton were also interested in signing the forward, who scored 17 goals in the La Liga last season, but despite having agreed a deal, they were beaten to his signature by Arsenal. The lure of playing in the Champions League was clearly one of the factors that helped the north London club clinch his signature, as they made their move late in the transfer window.

Lucas, as he prefers to be known, has admitted that he is delighted to have signed for the north London club and revealed that apart from his agent, he also spoke to other unnamed players, who advised him with regards to a move to the Emirates Stadium.

"I'm delighted. It's a massive step in my career to come to a club with the history and quality that Arsenal have and be able to play in competitions like the Premier League and the Champions League. I'm very proud and happy to be here," Lucas told Arsenal's official site.

"Well, it was through my agent and through some other players who spoke very highly of Arsenal to me. I was really happy and flattered when I heard about Arsenal's interest. I was very hopeful to get the chance to come here.

"Well, there was some contact when the transfer window opened. As always in football, clubs have to evaluate what they need, but they showed interest when they got in contact. Things happened more quickly towards the end of the window so it could be made official," he explained.

"Massively so. I'm really excited [about playing in the Premier League]. I want to show what I'm about, get stuck into playing and perform well."