Lucas Perez joined Arsenal to be a back-up player, and was then disappointed to be a back-up player. It’s a often told story, a player leaves a club where he’s a hero, and is happy, to try his luck in a tougher environment and be paid a much higher salary.

When push comes to shove, the player isn’t happy on the bench and longs for the days he was the main man, and had all the status which goes with that. It happened with Nolito at Manchester City, and there often seems a bitterness when these things, almost inevitably, come to an end.

Lucas Perez is upset Arsenal gave his shirt number to Alexandre Lacazette, but there were talks going on with other clubs, encouraged by the Spaniard and his agent, way before the Frenchman arrived at the Emirates. Perez wants to present an alternative reality to the one which he helped build over the summer.

Marca report on Wednesday that Deportivo La Coruna want to take Perez back, and have made two offers. The player’s agent Rodrigo Fernández Lovelle is quoted as saying: “The amount is close to what was paid for Nolito by Sevilla (€9m). Arsenal paid €21m, but when a player doesn’t play he devalues.”

There’s been suggestions Depor’s offer is €10m, but it could just as easily be less than the €9m Nolito price-tag. The player and his agent expect Arsenal to lose 50% in a year, potentially more, and at the same time they’re showing no sign of a potential gratefulness for it.

Instead of pointing the finger at Arsenal, maybe Lucas Perez should take some responsibility for a move that was always unlikely to work out perfectly for him, and try amicably, without whining to the media, to come to a solution which is reasonably acceptable to all.