Gunners punching their weight again in Europe

LONDON (Reuters) – The true value of Arsenal’s table-topping display against Basel will not become clear until Monday’s draw for the Champions League last-16, but a 4-1 win proved the Gunners are starting to punch their weight again in the competition.

Despite 19 consecutive group stage campaigns, defeat at the last-16 stage for the past six seasons has reduced Arsenal to members of the supporting cast.

While the A-listers – the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – march into spring eyeing Europe’s most prized club trophy, Arsenal has sloped away for domestic chores.

Not even a title chase, rather just grinding out a top-four spot in the Premier League. Things might just be different this season though. Beaten only twice in 23 matches in all competitions so far, Arsenal looks far more resilient than in recent seasons, without losing any of its customary flair.

Hat-trick man Lucas Perez’s second goal on Tuesday was the end product of a 33-pass move – the longest sequence to goal so far in this season’s Champions League.

Arsenal went through Group A undefeated, the first time it had managed that since the 2005/06 season, and qualified for the last-16 as a group winner for the first time since 2011/12.

That will guarantee the Gunners are spared a meeting with Lionel Messi’s Barcelona in the last-16, although Bayern Munich or any two from Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Sevilla could be blocking their path after Christmas.

Captain Laurent Koscielny said Arsenal’s win maintained the momentum.

“We needed to finish the group stage well to have no regrets and we started the game well by scoring two early goals,” he said. “It was a good win for us to have after our big win on Saturday. It’s important to finish first because we have the second game at home.”

In other Champions League action, Arda Turan grabbed a hat-trick to lead Barcelona to a 4-0 rout of Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday, while Manchester City drew 1-1 at home to Celtic in its final group stage match, which maintained its unbeaten home record in the competition this year.

Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Leicester City were among the teams in action late Wednesday night.