Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Lucas Perez proved he's a natural goalscorer by grabbing a hat trick in his first Champions League start.
Arsenal beat Basel 4-1 on Tuesday to clinch first place in Group A as Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 2-2 draw by Ludogorets, with Perez netting the first three goals for the Gunners.
Perez was a surprise starter as Wenger shuffled his lineup by making six changes, but it paid off handsomely as he scored twice into an empty net in the first half and completed his hat trick with a low right-footed shot just after the break.
It was a breakthrough performance for Perez, who was brought in from Deportivo La Coruna for £17 million in the summer but struggled to get playing time before being sidelined for a month with an ankle injury.
"I think he took advantage of the fact that we created good chances. But he's a goal scorer, you know. He scored over 20 goals in Spain and that is never a coincidence," Wenger told BT Sport. "So I think he has shown that tonight that he has a good smell for the goal in the box."
Arsenal had looked set to settle for second place in the group for the sixth time in seven years but were helped by Ludogorets, who clinched third place in the group by earning a point in Paris. The Bulgarian side had led Arsenal 2-0 at home before losing 3-2, and Wenger said he wasn't totally surprised by Tuesday's result.
"I thought that Ludogorets were a good side," he said, but added that finishing first wasn't necessarily a big advantage.
Arsenal have lost in the Round of 16 in the previous six years, often after drawing a heavyweight team like Bayern Munich or Barcelona. Even after topping the group, Bayern or even Real Madrid could be awaiting again in Monday's draw, and so Wenger was cautiously optimistic about his team's chances.
"I invite you to come with us to the draw and you'll see the consequences [of winning the group]. It's difficult to know," Wenger said. "But as I told you yesterday, you feel a bit less guilty if you have a bad draw when you're first than second. So at least we have done our job, and let's see what happens."
Centre-back Rob Holding also made his Champions League debut by starting in place of the rested Shkodran Mustafi, and he acknowledged that the Gunners had one eye on the result in Paris, where Ludogorets led 1-0 at half-time and reclaimed the lead in the 69th minute before Angel Di Maria scored an injury-time equaliser for PSG.
"We've seen the scores as we were coming in [at halftime] so we knew that if we kept doing our jobs it will take care of itself, which it turns out it has done with the draw down there," Holding said. "So, happy to come top."
And Laurent Koscielny pointed out that winning the group carries an advantage no matter who they play in the next round.
"It's important to finish first because we have the second game at home," he said. "In the last 16 we've always had a big team, so we'll see the draw."