LONDON -- Mesut Ozil scored his first ever hat trick as Arsenal took a big step toward qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 6-0 rout of Ludogorets at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.The 28-year-old German midfielder capped off an impressive display against the Bulgarian champions to earn the match ball with three goals in the space of 31 second-half minutes. Hes now scored six goals in 10 appearances for Arsenal this season.He looks like he gets the taste to score goals, said Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, who was celebrating his 100th European victory in charge of the Gunners. We want him to be a provider and a scorer and it looks like hes slowly moving to that better balance.The victory over Ludogorets -- Arsenals seventh in a row -- means that the team is top of Group A of the Champions League at the halfway mark with seven points from three games. Arsenal has a superior goal difference over Paris Saint-Germain, which also has seven points following its 3-0 victory over Swiss side Basel on Wednesday. Ludogorets languishes in bottom place with just one point. Basel also has one point.We were fast and dangerous, added Wenger, whose team is second behind Manchester City in the Premier League standings. We are confident and we must stay focused in every single game.In the early stages of the game, Ludogorets posed a threat to Arsenal from its swift counter-attacking, but Arsenal took the lead in the 13th minute through Alexis Sanchez. Put through on goal by a well-timed pass from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez advanced onto the Ludogorets goal before chipping goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov in style.Ludogorets had chances to level, notably in the 32nd, but Wandersons 15-yard (meter) shot struck the base of Arsenals post.But that was as close as the Bulgarian side got to getting back on level terms. In-form striker Theo Walcott doubled Arsenals lead in the 42nd with a curling shot from 20 yards (meters) that went beyond the reach of the diving Stoyanov.With eight goals in 10 appearances, Walcott has been impressive this season after the disappointment of missing out on the England squad for the European Championship. Wenger said Walcott has become much more resilient and is playing with more freedom.Oxlade-Chamberlain put the game beyond any doubt within a minute of the restart, calmly slotting the ball past Stoyanov from inside the area after a low cross from Kieran Gibbs was diverted into his path.Then it was all about Ozil. The midfielder made it 4-0 in the 56th with another calmly taken goal after a long ball through the middle of the Ludogorets defense by Santi Cazorla.Ozil got his second in the 83rd minute with a side-footed finish from eight yards (meters) out. He capped off his -- and Arsenals night -- with a left-footed volley four minutes later.Brilliant team performance, Ozil said in a tweet after the game. And very happy about my first ever hat trick!Arsenal will now look ahead to a potential group decider against PSG next month. Ederson Moraes Manchester City Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Ilkay Gundogan Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. http://www.authenticmanchestercityshop.com/Authentic-Eliaquim-Mangala-Manchester-City-Jersey/ . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Raheem Sterling Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Blank Manchester City Jersey . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Lilly King has her sights set on winning Olympic gold and shes not about to let anyone get in her way, especially not world champion breaststroker Yulia Efimova of Russia.King made that clear in a finger-wagging display after her 100-meter breaststroke win over the Russian, who has a history of doping. King pointedly disparaged the Russian after the event over her drug history, and the feud has helped make doping spats among swimmers an intriguing subplot in the Rio Games so far.A separate fight over doping between swimmers from Australia and China escalated on Monday, prompting officials from the two nations to join the fray. And the dispute between King and Efimova has the potential to grow as the two compete for a medal Monday night.The source of the feuds is suspensions handed down to Efimova and Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, who served three months in 2014 over a banned heart medication. Efimovas actions and punishment were more severe -- she missed 16 months for doping and tested positive this year for the now-banned substance meldonium.The positive meldonium test was placed on hold while world anti-doping officials conduct further studies on the drug.If thats what she feels she needs to be able to compete, whatever, thats her deal, King told reporters. Im here to compete clean for the U.S. and thats what Im going to do.A smattering of boos greeted Efimova after she won her preliminary heat Sunday. The Russian mens 4x100 freestyle relay was also booed when introduced for their final the same night. For her part, Efimova waved a No. 1 finger after her semifinal Sunday, prompting King to do her own finger-wagging.The dispute between King and Efimova went beyond the pool when officials from Australia and China got involved.Australian swimmer Mack Horton originally labeled Sun a drug cheat. The Chinese Swimming Association asked Horton on Monday to apologize for his inappropriate words. Australias Olympic Committee shot back in Hortons defense hours later, saying he was speaking his mind in support of clean athletes and wished him luck.It was the second time in days that Horton had publicly referred to Suns drug suspension as part of what the Australian team acknowledged is a campaign to rattle the Chinese star who won two golds at the 2012 Olympics.Sun has previously said he did noot know the medication trimetazidine, which he took for chronic heart palpitations, had been placed on the banned list when he tested positive.dddddddddddd He burst into tears Sunday after losing to Horton, garnering an outpouring of support from Chinese social media users who pilloried Horton on his Facebook page. The Australian was accused of snubbing Suns attempt to congratulate him on his win immediately after the race, although the two did briefly shake hands later at the podium.The spiraling row has generated a shrill response from Chinese media during what has already been a period of elevated tensions after Australia voiced opposition in recent weeks to Chinese claims of maritime territory.On Monday, Xinhua released a slew of gently critical articles on topics ranging from Australian trade policy to Melbournes quality of life. The Global Times tabloid opted for a more blunt approach, referring to Australia in a commentary as a former British offshore prison that is on the fringes of civilization.As part of the International Olympic Committees decision not to throw the entire Russian team out of the Olympics, Efimova was initially banned along with six other Russian swimmers who either had positive tests on their record or were named in an investigation of Russias massive, state-sanctioned doping scheme.Now, it looks like theyll all be competing in Rio de Janeiro, though world swimming body FINA has not fully explained why.Efimova is also expected to swim the 200 breaststroke and presumably the 4x100 medley relay. She will swim next to each other in the 100-meter breaststroke final Monday night.Efimova declined to speak with reporters after the semifinals, but promised to talk after Mondays final. Earlier Sunday, she described the last six months as crazy and said she didnt understand whats going on.When pressed about criticism from rival swimmers and coaches, she smiled and walked away.Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania, the world record holder in the 100 breast, said Efimovas doping history is disrespectful to other athletes.We train fair, she said. When something like that happens, its never nice. These are not the values of our sport.---Shih contributed from Beijing. ' ' '
