Arsenal fans react as forgotten man Lucas comes good in Europe

For all the chatter about Olivier Giroud remaining on the Arsenal bench so far this season, the same attention has not been paid to Lucas Pérez.

The Spanish striker moved to North London for an eight-figure fee over the summer, but has yet to score a single Premier League goal. When Lucas' compatriot Roberto Soldado struggled to hit the ground running a few miles down the road at Tottenham in 2013, some suggested a big European performance could be the key to making an impact domestically. Well, if that is the case then the former Deportivo La Coruña frontman has delivered the goods, firing home a hat-trick as the Gunners won in Basel to secure top spot in the Champions League's Group A. https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/806242831320907781 It didn't take long for the 28-year-old to open his account for the night https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/806225965621903364 Even if it demonstrated that he isn't exactly a household name just yet. https://twitter.com/ghostbiggie/status/806226077236559872 And it didn't take long for Arsenal fans to show that they always believed in the well-travelled striker. https://twitter.com/_Zeets/status/806239366532239360 The stats men were out in force... https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/806239925326778368 https://twitter.com/archiert1/status/806240064900571137 ...as were the punners. https://twitter.com/oilysailor/status/806240019035865088 And it wouldn't be an Arsenal hat-trick without the inevitable comparisons. https://twitter.com/JongsmaJongsma/status/806240171071078401 Indeed, attentions turned to another former Arsenal target, whose own decision to stay put paved the way for Lucas to jet over from Spain in August. https://twitter.com/Brohan_Cruyff/status/806241966363148288 https://twitter.com/_socoamaretto/status/806228949546188800 The treble takes Lucas' tally for the season to six, though one of those came when he was still a Depor player - Vardy has three for Leicester and one for England so far this campaign. Just don't call him a fox in the box - that doesn't have the best connotations for Arsenal fans. https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/806240526404112384 Catch up with this week's episode of Football Friday Live