Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says striker Lucas Perez has the potential to become a great player, having already shown this for the Gunners this season.

The 28-year-old striker scored twice in the EFL Cup third-round clash with Nottingham Forest and assisted Mesut Ozil twice in their Champions League victory over Ludogorets.

The 67-year-old has revealed that Perez will get another opportunity to showcase his talent when they take on Reading on Tuesday.

‘He did extremely well against Ludogorets because he came on and gave two great goals,’ Wenger told the Arsenal website.

‘He was a bit like the rest of the team against Middlesbrough, in that he could not have as big an impact because the whole team was not functioning as well.’

Wenger revealed that the Spanish striker continues to show his potential during training and the hope is he will emulate this in the next match.

‘I believe he has the potential to be a great player for us. In training he continues to show he has the potential to play, he now has to transfer that into the games,’ he added.

‘The more he does that – against Reading he will have an opportunity – the more we will be tempted to say, “Let’s do it”.’

The match at Emirates Stadium kicks off at 20:45.