Lucas Perez can be Arsenal's Spanish Jamie Vardy… he finally announced himself in style by winning their Champions League group 

• e-mail

The Arsenal fans certainly enjoyed Lucas Perez's hat-trick, many pointing out that he scored as many Champions League goals in 47 minutes as their great rivals Tottenham had managed all season.

The treble against Basle secured an unlikely top-of-the-group-table finish and was the first meaningful mark made in north London by the little-known Spaniard brought in from Deportivo La Coruna for £17.1million at the tail end of the summer transfer window.

Let's not get too carried away here. Two were open goals. One was a decent shot the goalkeeper should've saved.

Lucas Perez slots the ball past Tomas Vaclik en route to a Champions League hat-trick

The 27-year-old Arsenal striker celebrates completing his 47-minute treble at St Jakob Park

The 28-year-old had scored 53 league goals in his entire career when Arsenal signed him

'I think he took advantage of the fact that we created good chances,' Wenger admitted after the match. 'But he's a goal scorer, you know. He scored over 20 goals in Spain and that is never a coincidence. So I think he has shown that tonight that he has a good smell for the goal in the box.'

The signing in August oozed Wenger. Despite the relative lack of financial restraints the Frenchman now works under in the transfer window he cannot resist trying to unearth that bargain that everyone else is missing. One imagines him frequenting Poundland on his rare days off, scouring the shelves for top value.

When Wenger announced his desire to buy Lucas the statisticians must've shuddered. The 27-year-old (he is now 28) had scored 53 league goals in his entire career.

Seventeen of those came in the previous season for Deportivo La Coruna — no mean feat. Nine of those came in Greece, for PAOK Salonika. OK. One was in the Spanish second division at Rayo Vallecano and five for their B side. Right. Fourteen were in Ukraine for Karpaty Lvov, none at Dynamo Kiev where he was on loan for the 'worst four months' of his life. 

The 28-year-old Arsenal man slots the ball into an empty Basle net from Gibbs' assist

Some have dubbed Perez Spain's version of Jamie Vardy, the player who turned Wenger down

All of that prompted Wenger to spend more than 10 times the amount Deportivo paid for him the previous year — 10 times even the amount he had moved for in his entire career, a paltry £600,000 to Salonika and £1.3m to move back to Spain.

Some quarters have dubbed him Spain's version of Jamie Vardy, the player who turned Wenger down before he went for Lucas, whose solitary runners-up medal in the Greek Cup is not quite as impressive as the Leicester City striker's Premier League one. 

But, similar to his midlands counterpart, he likes to press and harass high up the pitch, he prefers balls played five or six yards in front of him to run on to with startling pace he uses to manoeuvre in behind defences and into the channels.

The 28-year-old is typical Arsene Wenger signing, an unearthed bargain no one was looking at

Much has been made, also, about his ability to play on the wing and there have been comparisons to Theo Walcott, but Lucas was Deportivo's main striker last season and upon signing him Wenger confirmed that was where he expected to utilise the player. 

He gave him the No 9 shirt, after all, and that used to mean something. Lucas wrote himself into Deportivo's history books playing in that postition by scoring in seven successive matches, equalling a record set by the great Brazilian Bebeto.

A severe injury and the sheer level of players in similar positions he is competing against being so high — Alexis Sanchez, Walcott and Olivier Giroud, while Danny Welbeck is returning from injury — have limited his opportunities thus far. And Lucas was not anticipating that.

Lucas was Deportivo La Coruna's main striker and Wenger wants him to play down the middle

'When I first arrived here I expected to have more of a starring role,' he said, speaking to Spanish radio station Onda Cero back in October. 

'The teammates that are playing in my position are doing a great job. We have won seven games in a row and, at the end of the day, the coach wants what is best for the team. I had hoped to have more playing time, but what I have to do now is make the most of the opportunities I get.'

Team-mate Santi Cazorla warned him to be patient. Lucas understands patience. He has waited his entire career for this kind of opportunity. 

Arsenal finished top of Group A  as Paris Saint-Germain could only draw 2-2 with Ludogorets