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Ayoze Perez has been in terrific form recently, but after dropping hints about leaving Newcastle, he showed exactly why the Magpies should let that happen with his performance at Arsenal.
Arsenal simply swept the Magpies aside on Monday evening, although that was perhaps expected considering Rafael Benitez’s men have not won away in the league since December, and that was against Huddersfield, the league’s punching bag.
The Gunners thought they had rushed out in front early but their strike was ruled out for a foul in the box, only for Aaron Ramsey to open the scoring not long after with a precise finish into the bottom corner.
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Alexandre Lacazette doubled the score after the interval courtesy of some lovely link-up play with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as the Magpies’ front three completely failed to get into the match.
While pretty much every player in black and white struggled though, none were quite as disappointing as Perez.
After bagging two goals and an assist in the dramatic win over Everton, Perez should have felt confident going against an Arsenal back four that rarely keeps a clean sheet, but he was completely and utterly invisible.
He touched the ball just 30 times, the least of any Newcastle starter except Isaac Hayden, who was substituted first, and he also had five unsuccessful touches.
If you’ve already done the maths in your head, yes, Perez failed to control the ball one out of every six times he received it on Monday, or about 17% – Sunday league standard.
The crafty little playmaker clearly has talent, but his inconsistency and tendency to just completely disappear in games makes him expendable.
After openly admitting he wants to play in La Liga again last month, the club should seriously consider cashing in this summer while the Spaniard is still in decent enough form to attract suitors.