Lucas Perez has the potential to become a "great player" for Arsenal in the future, according to Arsene Wenger.
Perez moved to the Emirates Stadium in a £17m deal this summer but his arrival was somewhat overshadowed by the purchase of Shkodran Mustafi.
The 28-year-old has had to be patient while pressing his claim for regular game time this season, having started just one Premier League game to date.
Perez's best performance for the Gunners arrived in a comfortable EFL Cup victory over Nottingham Forest and Wenger has tipped the Spaniard to prove his worth against Reading tonight.
“He did extremely well against Ludogorets because he came on and gave two great goals,” Wenger told Arsenal's official 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.
“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.
In Pictures | Arsenal vs Middlesbrough | 22/10/2016
“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 Frenchman added.
Perez is expected to be one of several fringe players given an opportunity to impress against the Royals.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding and Jeff Reine-Adelaide are all in line to feature as Wenger shuffles his pack with a quarter-final place up for grabs.
