Lucas Perez Sets Champions League Record With Brilliant Hat-trick 1

Not many Arsenal supporters knew what to think when the club signed Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna during the summer.

Hardly a commonly known name outside of Spain, he arrived without a great deal of expectation weighing on his shoulders.

As is the case with most new additions to any squad, Perez has taken some time to find his groove at the Emirates.

The versatile attacker has made seven appearances for the Gunners in all competitions albeit mainly in the League Cup, with two goals and two assists to show for his efforts.

But in his first Champions League start in an Arsenal shirt, Perez has given Arsene Wenger a lot to think about in terms of his attacking options for upcoming fixtures.

The 28-year-old has netted a superb hat-trick against FC Basel in the final round of group stage fixtures, helping his side pip Paris Saint-Germain to top spot in Group A.

To make his display even more special, his three goals also made him the first Spanish player to score a hat-trick in his first Champions League start.


Perez opened the scoring at St Jakob Park in the eighth minute after a perfectly weighted Alex Sanchez pass allowed Kieran Gibbs to set up a simple finish into an empty net.


His second came from a similar position when Alex Iwobi’s strike from a tight angle was pushed into his path, just a few yards away from an unoccupied Basel goal.


Perez sealed his hat-trick after a rare piece of mis-control by Alexis Sanchez saw the ball fall to the number 9 behind the Basel defence, allowing him to lash a composed shot past Tomas Vaclik.


The old adage ‘it doesn’t matter how they go in’ comes to mind when you look how the Arsenal striker doubled his goal return for the season in one match, but his performance was nonetheless impressive.