Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has braced himself for a tough last 16 draw in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) after he masterminded an impressive 4-1 away win over Swiss champions FC Basel.
Spanish striker Lucas Perez, who was signed from Deportivo La Coruna in the summer, scored a hat-trick while Nigerian youngster Alex Iwobi added a fourth goal to give Arsenal a 4-0 lead before Basel’s Ivorian striker Seydou Doumbia scored a consolation for the home side. The result was enough for Arsenal to finish top of Group A ahead of French champions Paris Saint Germain (PSG), who slipped up at home with a 2-2 draw against Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria.
When asked about the knockout stage (last 16), which has proven to be the stumbling block for Arsenal in six UCL successive campaigns, Wenger said: “I don’t even know who we can get.”
“But we can still have a difficult draw, Anyway, it will be difficult but with less guilt when you finish first.
“You feel you’ve done the job and can play the second leg at home. So we have achieved that. But the draw is not much different [in terms of the potential opponent], certainly at the moment.
“I cannot complain 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 with Paris Saint-Germain, so it was a positive night.”
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