Lucas Moura has described it as the worst seven months of his life and even now the speed of his descent from hero to zero under Unai Emery at Paris Saint-Germain feels mystifying.
The Tottenham winger was an established PSG player when Emery came to the club for the 2016-17 season and he would make 53 appearances in all competitions for him, getting 19 goals – a career high and second only to Edinson Cavani in the club’s scoring charts.
Then, everything changed. Emery had to accommodate Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, who had joined PSG in the summer of last year, but it was still remarkable to see how Lucas’s opportunities dried up. Between July and January – when he completed a £25m move to Spurs – Lucas played six times, each as a substitute. In total, he was on the field for 80 minutes.
The Brazilian is careful to say the right things about Emery, who is now in charge at Arsenal, but their personal history frames one of the many subplots to Sunday’s derby at the Emirates Stadium.
The bottom line is that Emery was the manager who forced Lucas out of PSG, where he had played since a €45m (£40m) transfer from São Paulo in January 2013, winning four league titles, three French cups and four league cups. How could he not want to prove his worth to him?
Lucas was asked the question. Did he want to show Emery that he had the quality to thrive at a big club? “I try to show it – him – at Spurs,” he replied, getting the point across despite a rare tangle to his impressive English. “I forget the last five or six months that I had at PSG. And I like to think about the four years when I was very happy there and I won a lot of trophies. The last year was to learn and to grow up. Now I am a more experienced player and more strong.”
Lucas, now 26, talks a good deal about personal happiness and how content he is at Tottenham after a difficult first few months last season. This time out, he has not only contributed five goals in all competitions but he has thrilled with his pace and dribbling. The contrast to his final season at PSG, which he discussed with ESPN Brazil in August, is plain.
“It was very hard, the worst seven months of my life,” he said. “I came from a very good season, I was second top scorer of the team, only behind Cavani. The following season I wasn’t even called up. I used to go to practice, I wasn’t even in the game. I used to go back home. But I kept working hard. And God gave me the best gift of life, my son [in November 2017].”
Did Emery ever explain why he overlooked him? “No,” Lucas replied. “I need to respect the decision of the coach. I know that it’s difficult for him because he needs to choose 11 players to play. I don’t like to look behind. I like to look forward to what I can do, what I can win.
“I have nothing against Unai. I respect him, he is a very good coach. Sometimes it happens. I don’t know why. I cannot explain to you. But now I am happy here. It’s a new chapter in my life, a new challenge.”
Lucas said it was difficult for him to speak about his former coach when asked about Emery’s playing style, but he was more forthcoming about what he felt he could achieve at Spurs.
The club sit third in the Premier League, five points behind the leaders, Manchester City, and confidence is high after a run of six consecutive wins in all competitions, the most recent on Wednesday in the Champions League against Internazionale. Spurs would ensure qualification to the last 16 if they beat Barcelona at the Camp Nou on 11 December.
“I really believe in this club and I really believe that we can win the Premier League,” Lucas said. “We can win trophies this season. I am here to help and to make history. It’s very, very difficult, I know. But Leicester won the Premier League, so I think we are very good and we can do this.
“In football, we never know what will happen. That’s why it’s so beautiful. We need to believe, work hard and enjoy each opportunity that we have.”
The Guardian Sport
