Lucas hat-trick in Basel seals top spot for Arsenal

Spanish striker Lucas Perez seized his chance to shine with a Champions League treble as Arsenal outclassed Basel 4-1 away to steal Group A top spot from Paris St Germain on Tuesday.

Perez, making only his fifth start since joining from Deportivo La Coruna for around 17 million pounds ($21.55 million) in August, struck twice from close range inside the opening 16 minutes.

He netted again two minutes after the break to become only the sixth Arsenal player to score a hat-trick in the competition.

Alex Iwobi made it 4-0 after 53 minutes and it could have been even better for Arsenal as Alexis Sanchez rattled the crossbar with a fizzing free kick.

The St Jakob-Park crowd finally had something to warm them on a cold night when substitute Seydou Doumbia flicked in a consolation after a skilful turn in the area.

Arsenal topped the group because PSG were surprisingly held 2-2 at home by Bulgarian side Ludogorets, who qualify for the Europa League at the expense of Basel.

Other scores on Tuesday night were:

 

PSG                                   2

Ludogorets                        2

 

Benfica                              1

Napoli                                2

 

Dynamo Kiev                     6

Besiktas                             0

 

Barcelona                          4

Monchengladbach        0

 

Man City                            1

Celtic                                  1

 

Bayern Munich                  1

Atletico Madrid                  0

 

PSV Eindhoven                 0

FC Rostov                         0

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