Wenger hails Perez's classy strike
Arsene Wenger hailed Lucas Perez's first Premier League strike as an "exceptional goal of pure class".
Perez fired home a sumptuous volley from Olivier Giroud's savvy flick over the defence as Arsenal rallied for a last-gasp 3-3 draw at Bournemouth yesterday morning (Singapore time).
Perez joined Arsenal from Deportivo La Coruna in a £17 million (S$30m) deal in August and claimed his first Premier League goal on his seventh appearance in the competition at Bournemouth.
"Perez came on and had an exceptional game," said Wenger. "I think Perez scored an exceptional goal of pure class."
Giroud's third goal in as many games salvaged a point for an Arsenal side that had been lacklustre for the first hour, when Bournemouth ran riot and went 3-0 up.
Arsenal started their comeback with 20 minutes left, first through Alexis Sanchez, then Perez, before Giroud's injury-time equaliser.
Giroud toasted his goal with a "scorpion kick" celebration that referenced his acrobatic strike in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on New Year's Day.
Perez came on and had an exceptional game ... he scored an exceptional goal of pure class.[Arsene Wenger on Perez’s goal
Despite admitting "mixed feelings" on the result, Wenger still found time to praise his side's attacking threat.
"All our players are important," said Wenger. "I said before that Giroud can score important goals and he's done that again.
"Because when we play into the box, he's dangerous. And Perez too.
"Giroud again scored because we dominated and he can score a header. Look, we have mixed feelings after a game like that.
"Of course, we wanted three points, we got only one, but when you are 3-0 down after 70 minutes, you take a point as well." - PA SPORT
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now