LUCAS PEREZ scored twice on his Deportivo La Coruna return after paying part of his own transfer fee.
The 34-year-old played 96 matches for his beloved Deportivo before leaving for Arsenal in 2016.
Perez’s old club have had a rough time of it since he left, being relegated from LaLiga in 2018 and falling into the third tier two years later.
Since leaving the Gunners, Perez has played for West Ham, Alaves, Elche and Cadiz.
And, such was his determination to leave the latter and return to Deportivo, he paid a portion of his own £440,000 transfer fee.
Perez played his first match since returning over the weekend, and it could hardly have gone any better.
READ MORE ON ARSENAL
Deportivo took on Unionistas de Salamanca, with Perez bagging twice in a 3-0 win.
He sent the sizeable crowd wild on 49 minutes, when he calmly rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home from close range to put his side 1-0 up.
Team-mate Alberto Quiles made it 2-0 with a cheeky Panenka penalty on 66 minutes.
And Perez rounded off a resounding win in stoppage time, slotting beyond the goalkeeper from 10 yards.
Most read in Football
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST OFFERS FOR EXISTING CUSTOMERS
The result saw fourth-placed Deportivo stay within four points of top of the table Cordoba.
After the match, an emotional Perez said: “It was special I’m going back home, to the Riazor. What I liked the most was the atmosphere, it was incredible.
“It’s what we want, for it to be a party and for the fans to take us on flying, as it has been.
“All day they were cheering and it gives us wings to continue and achieve the goal.”
This is Perez’s FOURTH spell with Deportivo.
He spent the 2014-15 campaign on loan there from Greek side PAOK, before making his move permanent the following season.
Perez then played for Depor in their most recent LaLiga campaign on loan from Arsenal in 2017-18.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
