Flying Arsenal aiming to top Group A

Match Preview: Arsenal vs Basel - Champions League - 28.09.2016

With 11 goals in their last three matches and being unbeaten in seven, Arsenal enter the first Champions League match at the Emirates this season with a lot of confidence. Saturday's comprehensive defeat of Chelsea was a monkey off the backs of Arsenal's squad and showed just how dominant this side can be when everything clicks.

Arsenal benefitted from a lucky draw in Paris and their next two Group A matches are at home to comfortable opposition - on paper. The problem with Arsenal and the Champions League is they never make things easy for themselves and straightforward games on paper are never that. These matches represent a real opportunity for Arsenal to top the group so take advantage of one of the promotions for new players at Betfred to back Arsenal to reach the last 16 with a favourable draw for once.

Arsenal showed relentless energy against Chelsea and a maturity of performance Wenger's youthful charges have lacked for a few seasons. They combined grit with ability and we rewarded with a convincing result. It gives Chelsea too much slack and Arsenal not enough credit to suggest the result was more to do with Chelsea's poor performance - Arsenal made Chelsea look ordinary by being so good.

Basel, however, are a different kettle of fish and we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. The Swiss side has a decent pedigree in Europe in recent seasons and an eye for talent as Arsenal can attest with ex-Basel finds Xhaka and Elneny in our matchday squad.

Arsenal will be without Francis Coquelin because of a knee injury sustained against Chelsea so Granit Xhaka should feature against his former club. Giroud will miss the game through suspension so it's likely Wenger will only make one unforced change from the Chelsea victory with David Ospina expected to start in goal. Why the manager elects to drop his number one keeper for Champions League matches continues to bewilder Gunners' fans but it should not go unsaid that Ospina was inspired against PSG and kept us in the game.

If Arsenal play with the intensity they played Chelsea then this should be a straightforward victory on home turf but if they underestimate Basel or let the Chelsea win go to their heads then the Swiss are more than capable of inflicting another Banterlecht on us.

LAST 3 MEETINGS

This is the first time these sides have met

FACTFILE

• Basel has a good record against English sides having beaten Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United.
• Arsenal have won all four of their previous competitive encounters with Swiss clubs.
• Basel has only lost once to English competition in Europe (W4 D5), against United in 2002.
• The Gunners have only conceded 1 goal against Swiss clubs in 4 previous fixtures.
• In 10 Champions League games against Premier League teams Basel has never failed to score.
• Arsenal average two goals per game against Swiss sides.
• Arsenal have lost three of their past 38 home games in the Champions League group stages, winning 29 and drawing six.
• Basel are winless in their past five Champions League games (D3 L2), scoring just three goals.
• Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League for the 19th consecutive season, only Real Madrid (20) can boast a longer current streak.

INJURIES

Ramsey, Coquelin, Giroud, Mertesacker, Jenkinson and Welbeck are all out.

STARTING XI

Ospina, Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal, Xhaka, Cazorla, Walcott, Özil, Iwobi, Alexis.

GOONERSPHERE'S PREDICTION

Arsenal 3-0 Basel

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