Theo Walcott scored twice in the first thirty minutes and Arsenal cruised to another solid victory.
Arsenal jumped on Basel early with Nacho Monreal forcing a good save from keeper Vaclik, the first of many fine saves he would make. Moments later, Cazorla found Alexis racing down the left wing. Alexis hoisted the ball across and Walcott raced onto it and headed home.
Walcott would score his second goal, again courtesy of Alexis, shooting the return pass into the corner of the goal.
Alexis would be denied several times by Vaclik, who made a number of reflex saves denying the Chilean the chance to extend his scoring streak.
In the second half Arsenal played at a slower pace and gave up a couple of chances, which Ospina saved.
Arsenal had a number of chances to add to the scoreline, but poor finishing and good goalkeeping kept the score the same.
Player Ratings:
Ospina 6: Ospina only had a couple of saves to make. He tipped Bjarnason’s long range effort over the bar and he snuffed out a breakaway near the end. He did not deal well with a corner that he deflected to Bjarnason, who knocked it over the bar.
Bellerin 8: Hector was outstanding and he was constantly marauding along the wing and sometimes cutting inside. He had a good effort saved in the first half.
Mustafi 7: Another solid match for Mustafi. He and Koscielny snuffed out virtually everything that came their way.
Koscielny 7: Never really put a foot wrong.
Monreal 7: He was able to attack most of the game and had very little defending to do. His early shot, courtesy of Iwobi, was an indication of what was to come.
Xhaka 7: Playing against his brother made this game special. Granit was solid throughout and did his job methodically.
Cazorla 7: Good game throughout. He was involved in the buildup for much of the offence.
Ozil 7: A good match but he will be disappointed he didn’t convert the chances he had in the first half. He volleyed Sanchez’s cross into the side netting and he hit another shot wide when he had broken through.
Walcott 9: Man of the match. His first goal showed great desire to race into the box to score with a rare header. The second goal saw him link up with Sanchez and hit the shot with power and good direction. He remained a threat for the rest of his game. He was denied a penalty shout later in the first half. He combined well with Bellerin a number of times. He also found a wide open Sanchez in the second half, but he couldn’t score.
Sanchez 9: Alexis will wonder how it was he didn’t score. He had three good chances in the first half and two in the second. He assisted on both of the goals as well and he put in an excellent shift. Several of his chances were the result of great saves. Vaclik even used his groin to smother the Sanchez shot following Mustafi’s header from a corner. Most annoying was his failure to score from Walcott’s cross into an open goal.
Iwobi 8: Terrific game from Alex who caused Basel problems throughout. He came close to scoring in the second half when he drove at the defence and smashed his shot inches wide.
Substitutes:
Oxlade-Chamberlain 6: Was disappointed when he rounded the keeper and his cross to the middle was saved by the keeper managing to recover.
Elneny 6: Probably disappointed not to start against his old club. Was efficient in the time he played.
Gibbs n/a: Played solidly at the end.