Arsene Wenger Comments on Arsenal After Champions League Win Against Basel

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted the Gunners "got lucky" in topping their UEFA Champions League group after Paris Saint-Germain drew with Ludogorets Razgrad, but he said it means he will feel "less guilt" if they get a tough last-16 draw.

The north London outfit claimed a thumping 4-1 win at FC Basel on Tuesday and were rewarded after PSG's shock 2-2 home draw with Ludogorets saw Arsenal leapfrog the French giants into top spot in Group A.

Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	For	Against	GD	Points
Arsenal	6	4	2	0	18	6	12	14
Paris Saint-Germain	6	3	3	0	13	7	6	12
Ludogorets	6	0	3	3	6	15	-9	3
FC Basel	6	0	2	4	3	12	-9	2

It means for just the second time in Arsenal's last seven Champions League campaigns they should, theoretically, have an easier draw in the last 16 and their chances of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 are improved.

Wenger highlighted the advantage Arsenal will gain from playing the second leg of their last-16 tie at home, per BBC Sport:

"

We wanted to do our job and got lucky with the PSG result. We can still have a difficult draw. But there's less guilt when you finish first in the group because you feel you have done your job and you play the second leg of the first knockout tie at home. It is what we wanted but, at the moment, the difficulty of the draw will not be much different.

"

Given the standings in the other Champions League groups this season, Arsenal could still face a tough opponent in the first knockout round, per BT Sport Football:

Summer signing Lucas Perez was the hero for Arsenal on Tuesday as he netted a hat-trick, which saw the Gunners 3-0 ahead early in the second half.

Alex Iwobi then finished off a slick move to make it 4-0 at St. Jakob-Park in Switzerland before Seydou Doumbia added a consolation for the hosts.

The emphatic win would have made no difference to their group standing had PSG not conspired to draw with relative minnows Ludogorets at the Parc des Princes.

However, that is exactly what they did, and only an Angel Di Maria stoppage-time equaliser spared the Ligue 1 champions from falling to a shock defeat after a poor performance, per French football writer Jonathan Johnson:

Arsenal were the beneficiaries and advance to the knockout rounds with an unbeaten group record for the first time since 2005.

There are still a number of dangerous teams they could draw in the last 16, including German champions Bayern Munich, who knocked them out at the same stage in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

But European football pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft believes the result could be different if they draw the same opponents in 2016-17:

As noted by Wenger, Arsenal have given themselves the best possible chance now of finally getting past the last 16 again, and they will hope for a little more luck in Monday's draw.