Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal: Arsene Wenger hopes display 'convinces people they are good enough' for Gunners

New signings Xhaka and Perez scores as Forest were dispatched easily in the East Midlands

Arsene Wenger watches on at the City Ground as Arsenal ease to victory (Getty)

Arsene Wenger hopes that Lucas Perez's two goals that he scored in Arsenal's 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest will prove to his critics that he has what it takes to succeed after a difficult start to life in the Premier League.

The £17m addition from Deportivo La Coruna struggled on his debut against Southampton two weeks ago and was subsequently left out of the ensuing matches against Paris Saint-German and Hull City.

But Wenger handed him another start in the EFL Cup third round clash at The City Ground and the Spaniard responded with his first two goals for the club, much to the delight of his manager.

"As a striker he is always growing in confidence. I liked his second goal. It was not only technique, it was determination to fight for the ball. I liked as well his pass to Oxlade-Chamberlain which showed he can combine with other people and his intelligent play.

"The only thing is he uses his left foot too much. He doesn't use his right enough. He is like the other left-footed players."

Perez struck home a second-half penalty after Forest defender Michael Mancienne fouled Chuba Akpom in the area. It proved to be a forgettable half for the former Chelsea defender, who was barged off the ball by Lucas 11 minutes later as the striker went on to score Arsenal's third.

What pleased Wenger even more, beyond the victory itself, was seeing two of his summer signings find the back of the net after Granit Xhaka opened the scoring to settle the visitors nerves midway through the first half.

"They played with a lot of commitment and we needed to be patient," Wenger added.

"We suffered in the first 20 minutes and that goal helped us and after that everybody focused.

"It's good because it convinces people they are good enough to play for Arsenal."