Arsenal picked up their first victory of their 2016/17 Champions league season with a commanding performance over Swiss champions Basel at the Emirates last night. The Gunners dropped points in their first game of the competition against PSG and so it was absolutely essential for them to take all there points at home in their next match.
Arsene Wenger’s men not only won the game but also handed out their opponents a footballing lesson, dominating them effusively in a manner which really became embarrassing for the visitors who have won all of their matches in the domestic league and are already 13 points clear at the top of the table. Let’s look at how the players fared in their 2-0 victory on a scale of 10.
David Ospina (7/10)
Ospina was a spectator for over 60 minutes of the match till he made a wonderful save from a Bjamason dipper. He made another fine stop against Sporar in the 88th minute to keep a clean sheet.
Hector Bellerin (8/10)
Bellerin is slowly cementing his status as one of the superstars of Arsenal defence. He was ever-present while providing the runs in the attacking phase or getting back defending without the ball. Bellerin along with Walcott make Arsenal’s right hand channel the fastest in the world at the moment.
Shkodran Mustafi (8/10)
Calm and composed, Mustafi is beginning to settle in nicely in the Arsenal defence. He used the ball nicely and was also excellent in his defensive actions winning all of his tackles, making 100% successful clearances and winning 6 of his 7 aerial duels, showing that he is worth the money Wenger paid for his transfer.
Laurent Koscielny (8/10)
Arsenal’s captain and leader at the back, Lolo leads by example with his on field performances and yesterday was no different. Seems to have already having a good understanding with his partner complimenting each other perfectly as he orchestrated another defensive shutout.
Nacho Monreal (8/10)
Nacho gave another consistent and commanding performance at the back. Was excellent with his overlaps and even played a wonderful lofted through ball for Sanchez to release him on goal. Defensively, he was near perfect.
Santi Cazorla (7/10)
Santi had a bit of a strange game, he misplaced some of his passes and also gave the ball away to the opposition carelessly a couple of times but also played some scintillating passes to create chances for his teammates. Had Cazorla’s magnificent little pass was buried by Sanchez in the first half, it would have been another perfect team goal scored by Arsene Wenger’s side.
Granit Xhaka (7.5/10)
Up against his older brother, Granit Xhaka showed the world again that is the X- factor of his family. Helped Cazorla in the midfield by holding his position and spraying the ball about with great accuracy.
Theo Walcott (9.5/10)
We can all see that the change of attitude has transformed Theo Walcott into a new player who has the ability to rip up any defence with his pace and drive. Theo linked up brilliantly with Sanchez to score two more goals for himself and impressed with his work rate again. The Englishman has been so impressive that Wenger rested him for the last 20 minutes and Basel breathed a sigh of relief to see his back.
Mesut Ozil (7/10)
Was almost subdued and was one of the rare occasions where his teammates out-shone him. Ozil got into some good positions but missed all of those chances horribly. Needs to really improve his finishing. Otherwise, he as usual, kept things ticking with his passes in the forward areas.
Alex Iwobi (8/10)
We can never guess his age when he plays alongside his teammates. Never looks out of place on the pitch, Iwobi is going from strength to strength, showing us his confidence on the ball and gave yet another fantastic performance to reinforce the belief of his manager in him.
Arsenal won the game 2-0. / AFP / Adrian DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Alexis Sanchez (8/10)
Set the tone for the match with an outrageous turn in the 6th minute of the game and never stopped running. Absolutely hounded the Basel defenders into making mistakes and was a scourge for them all night. He created plenty of chances on the night with his movement and passing. Sanchez ended the game with only two assists, even though he missed again which if taken could have meant another hat-trick for the Chilean.
Subs
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (6/10)
Seems like he takes things a bit easy which he really shouldn’t. His lax attitude didn’t matter as Arsenal were fully dominant on the night but he should have scored the goal or assisted one with the great opportunity he got.
Mohamed Elneny (7/10)
Elneny replaced Iwobi as Ozil was shifted on the left flank and Cazorla was pushed forward from the deep midfield. The Egyptian passed the ball with exceptional accuracy and also covered for Xhaka in the deep midfield for the closing stages well.
Kieran Gibbs (7/10)
Came on to replace Monreal for the final 14 minutes and was impressive once again with his overall performance. An absolute asset to have on the bench for Arsenal, Gibbs is perhaps the best 2nd choice left back in England when fit.
