Arsene Wenger: 'Lucas Perez available for Arsenal's EFL Cup tie'

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he will include Lucas Perez among a strong first-team squad for the EFL Cup clash with Southampton.

Wenger tends to turn to his reserve side when taking part in the competition, but while acknowledging that some of the younger members of the squad will play on Wednesday night, he has hinted that a number of senior players could feature in the quarter-final tie.

One of those players could be Perez, who has not featured since the 2-0 win over Reading on October 25.

The Frenchman told the club's official website: "Lucas is in the squad and will have a mixture of youth and experience, but still 90% of the first-team squad."

Perez has scored two goals in six games since making the switch to North London in the summer.