Arsène Wenger believes Arsenal can approach the knockout phase of the Champions League free of guilt after seeing his side capitalise ruthlessly on Paris Saint-Germain’s slip to claim Group A with an emphatic victory on the banks of the Rhine.
FC Basel were swept aside with ease in Switzerland courtesy of Lucas Pérez’s first hat-trick since he moved to the Premier League side in the summer, as Wenger’s decision to field a strong lineup paid off handsomely.
The fine victory, combined with PSG’s wasteful draw at home to Ludogorets Razgrad at the Parc des Princes, ensured Arsenal topped their group for only the second time in seven seasons and means they will definitely avoid Barcelona, Napoli, Atlético Madrid and Monaco in the last 16.
There remains the possibility of a collision with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund, but Wenger took heart from ending as section winners. “We can still have a difficult draw, so it will still be difficult, but you go forward with less guilt when you finish first,” said the Arsenal manager.
“You feel you’ve done the job and you know you will play the second leg [in the last 16] at home. So we have achieved that. But the draw is not much different [in terms of the potential opponent], certainly at the moment. Let’s see what happens in the draw.”
His team excelled here, with some of their approach play untouchable. There were 33 passes in the buildup to Pérez’s second goal, the most mustered for reward in the competition to date this season, with the decision to begin with Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez clearly justified. “I feel we had a good start, we were quite mobile and technically very agile as well, and quick,” said Wenger, who will discover who awaits in the last 16 in Monday’s draw in Nyon. “Overall the speed of our start surprised Basel.
“Since the start of the season our squad system has worked well, but this was still a convincing performance tonight. I’ve had bad nights in football and tonight was a good night. Overall we came here wanting to do the job, wanting to play well. On top of that we were lucky with the result in Paris Saint-Germain, so it was a positive night.
“I thought Ludogorets were a good side when we played them, and they made a great result that helps us top the group, which was what we wanted. But, overall, we did our own job in a convincing way, we were mobile and overall had a committed performance.”
The Frenchman paid special tribute to Pérez, whose only previous goals since his £17.1m summer move from Deportivo la Coruna had come in a League Cup tie at Nottingham Forest. The Spaniard, now free of niggling injury, duly scored the club’s sixth Champions League hat-trick – and second this season, after Özil’s against Ludogorets – to help capitalise on Arsenal’s overall dominance.
“The first two looked easy goals and were created by the team to make, what you call in England, ‘tap ins’,” added Wenger. “But he’s there to score them. You have to be there. The third was a real striker’s goal. He scored over 20 goals in Spain last year, and showed tonight why. He has a good eye and makes good movement in the box, and that’s why he scores. He is a goalscorer, you know, he has shown tonight he has a good smell for the goal.”
