West Ham United midfielder Jack Wilshere has heaped praise on former Arsenal colleague Lucas Perez and is looking forward to finally playing a game alongside him.
The two former Gunners were both at the Emirates Stadium between 2016 and 2018 but have never actually played a competitive game together.
And Wilshere is eager to end that particular statistic now that both players are on board at the London Stadium: “To be honest, I’ve never played a game with him but I’ve trained with him because last season we were both in a similar situation as we’d both been told we could leave [Arsenal],” he told West Ham’s official website.
“He’s calm in front of goal, he can finish, he’s got a personality on the pitch, he’s got character, and I’m looking forward to finally getting to play alongside him, you know.”
OPINION
On the face of it, it’s very strange that Wilshere and Perez have never played alongside one another. However, when you think about it, it becomes easy to understand. The season that the Spaniard arrived at the Emirates Stadium was the year in which Wilshere was on loan at Bournemouth. When the England international returned to North London a year ago, Perez left for a temporary spell at his former club Deportivo. Now, as fate would have it, both are wearing the claret and blue shirt of West Ham. The likelihood is that the two former Gunners will appear alongside one another soon enough. Perez’s addition was a somewhat low-key one, but it could prove to be a masterstroke by manager Manuel Pellegrini if the 29-year-old can recapture the form of his first Deportivo spell. Both players have something to prove after being left out in the cold at Arsenal, and Hammers fans will hope to benefit from their determination.
