Arsene Wenger’s men cruised to a 4-1 victory over Basel on Tuesday night. PSG’s shock draw against Ludogorets meant that the Gunners had topped their group after Lucas Perez’ first hat-trick for his new club.
Lucas netted the first after just eight minutes. Alexis Sanchez chipped a delightful ball over the defence to find Kieran Gibbs in the box and the left-back selflessly crossed for the Spaniard to tap in.
The same two combined again for the second goal just eight minutes later. And just two minutes into the second half, Lucas, this time played in by Sanchez, completed his hat-trick.
Arsenal’s third ended the game as a contest but they refused to ease off. Sanchez played a delightful through ball for Mesut Ozil, who cut back to provide Alex Iwobi with his first goal of the season.
The forward has been struggling for a place in Arsenal’s first team squad after injury problems and related to fitness and form but after an impressive display at Switzerland the 28-year-old seemed to be content with his contribution and celebrated on the flight back to London with Aaron Ramsey and Nacho Monreal.
Ramsey shared a photo on Instagram with a caption that read “Great win for the team tonight and an amazing feeling to top the group! Special congratulations to Lucas for an incredible hat-trick #COYG ”
Arsenal next face a test against Stoke City as they return to the Etihad for their Premier League fixture on Saturday.