Arsenal outplayed Basel here at the Emirates Stadium in the Champions league fixture and maintained hopes of the top spot in the group. Trademark football was on showcase from the Gunners who maintained 65% possession and had numerous occasions where they could have racked in more goals easily. The final scoreline does not reflect the domination of Arsenal in what turned out to be a relatively easy outing in comparison to one against PSG, Theo Walcott bagged a brace in the first half with assists from Alexis Sanchez resulting in a 2-0 win.
Player Ratings:
David Ospina – 7/10
The main savior last time around against PSG had little to do this time in a match bluntly dominated by the Arsenal offence department. Will continue to start in European games based on the performances so far.
Hector Bellerin – 7/10
Stepping into the game after hammering up Chelsea 3-0 he was confident and moved freely and in more attacking positions. Looks to rectify his mistakes from earlier games combined well with Walcott and was stout in the defence as well.
Shokdran Mustafi – 8/10
Till now he is proving to be consummate signing for the Gunners with the performances he has put up on show. Apart from couple of faulty passes he is turning out to be a great pairing with Koscielney in the heart of the defence.
Laurent Koscielney – 8/10
Another excellent display by the Frenchmen and his partnership with Mustafi is turning into a formidable one with the duo complimenting each other well. Excellent positioning to deny Basel any chance of goal in a match heavily dominated by Arsenal.
Nacho Monreal – 7/10
We have seen a gradual fall in the standards posed by him last season with the performances so far but he was solid to say the least against Basel, looks ordinary going forward from the left but held his defensive duties well.
Granit Xhaka – 8/10
An emotional moment playing against his childhood club and brother Taulant Xhaka he filled the void created by Coquelin well, maintained the fluidity with his intelligent passing and rarely gave the ball away, looks terrific with providing long range passes and switching play.
Santi Cazorla – 8.5/10
Completed 90% of his passes in the game and looked a majestic figure in the midfield making great plays occasionally. Great composure on the ball and best control next to Ozil in the team, will be interesting to see if he can score some goals the same time.
Alexis Sanchez – 8.5/10
Set up both the goals scored by Arsenal and his movement is one thing they should analyse at Harvard or maybe at some other World’s best universities, brilliant with the turns and always looks to attack the ball, unlucky not to get a brace himself.
Theo Walcott – 9/10
The man on fire at the moment, picked up on what was turning out to be a mediocre start of the season for him and now he is up and running. Scored both the goals for Arsenal and looks more determined and a player with improved football intelligence.
Alex Iwobi – 7.5/10
Used the space brilliantly and to his advantage, overall had a decent game and is gaining more admirers with his consistent performances over the days.
Mesut Ozil – 8/10
Among rumors resurfacing of him signing a new contract he had a good game and had some chances to score also, his contributions and touches in the game rarely goes unnoticed and so was the case here where he made some intelligent passes for Walcott and Sanchez to pounce on.
Mohammed Elneny – 7/10
Match was nearly decided when he entered but induced energy and momentum in whatever time he got against his former club.
Oxlade Chamberlain – 6.5/10
Caused some problems to the Basel defence but not significant to bring in a goal.
Kieran Gibbs – 7/10
Performed the role given to him well and sealed the game.
If this level of performance is maintained in the upcoming days, the Gunners might be serious title contenders this time around, with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United not really showing consistency, with Liverpool and Manchester City being the main contenders.
Defending champions Leicester City are getting a reality check in the current campaign and are nowhere to be seen so far.
