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Basel
Champions League | Group Stage
Dec 6, 2016 at 7.45pm UK
 
Arsenal logo

1-4

Doumbia (78')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Perez (8', 16', 47'), Iwobi (53')

Live Commentary: Basel 1-4 Arsenal - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's live coverage of Arsenal's 4-1 victory over Basel in the Champions League.
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Arsenal have finished in top spot in Group A after Lucas Perez scored a treble during his side's 4-1 win over Basel.

The Spaniard is yet to net in the Premier League but he took his total in all competitions to five as he scored three times inside the first 47 minutes.

Alex Iwobi netted a fourth and although Seydou Doumbia managed to find a consolation goal for the home team, Arsenal were able to celebrate ousting Paris Saint-Germain, who could only draw with Ludogorets Razgard.

Read below to see how the action unfolded in Switzerland.


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Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match in the Champions League between Basel and Arsenal.

When Alex Iwobi headed into his own net against Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium, many feel that Arsenal's chance of finishing top of Group A went with it but the Gunners still have a glimmer of a chance of overtaking the French giants tonight. They have to better PSG's result, which won't be easy with their rivals hosting Ludogorets Razgrad at the Parc des Princes.

That said, Arsenal should probably just concentrate on their own fixture in Switzerland. They completely outplayed Basel when they met at the Emirates Stadium in September but they are usually a different team when they play in front of their own fans and Arsene Wenger's side aren't always great on the road.

The only positive for Arsenal is that Ludogorets need a result themselves in Paris. The Bulgarian side need to either match or better the result of Basel in order to reach the Europa League so while we know who will qualify for the last 16 of this competition, we still have four teams who have something to play for, which is something you can't always say on the final matchday of the group stages.


Anyway, without further ado, let's take a look at the two teams. Wenger has opted to make some changes, like we thought he would do.

BASEL XI: Vaclik; Traore, Lang, Serey Die, Delgado; Steffen, Suchy, Janko, Balanta; Elyounoussi, Xhaka

ARSENAL XI: Ospina; Gabriel, Holding, Koscielny, Gibbs; Xhaka, Ramsey, Iwobi, Ozil, Lucas; Alexis

ARSENAL SUBSTITUTES: Cech, Monreal, Mustafi, Elneny, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Giroud

We will bring you the Basel substitutes shortly, but let's go through the Arsenal side with Wenger opting to make as many as six alterations. He had to decide whether to give Alexis Sanchez a well-deserved rest but the Chilean has been selected in attack. Lucas Perez makes a rare start in place of Theo Walcott, while Granit Xhaka gets the opportunity to start against his former club. In defence, Rob Holding and Gabriel both start, with David Ospina taking over responsibility in goal from Petr Cech.

As for Basel, Urs Fischer gives us all what we want by naming Granit Xhaka's brother Taulant in his starting lineup. This is the third time they have faced each other in the past six months. Marc Janko, Serey Die and Ever Balanta are names you may have heard of as well.

HEAD TO HEAD! The head-to-head is not so complicated given that the only previous fixture between the two clubs was the 2-0 win for Arsenal in September. Theo Walcott got both goals on that occasion but he has to make do with a place on the bench this evening.

Two stats which may worry Arsenal fans...




BASEL SUBSTITUTES: Vailati, Gaber, Zuffi, Bjarnason, Hoegh, Calla, Doumbia

What do Arsenal fans make of the inclusion of Alexis Sanchez? No-one can really blame Wenger for selecting his best player - who has scored five goals in two matches - for what is still a competitive match but given his work-rate and hectic schedule of late, it may have been advisable to start him on the bench for this one. Playing Walcott or Olivier Giroud seems to make sense to those on the outside but maybe they weren't completely fit or require a rest themselves. I don't suppose we truly know everything about every player but that said, Sanchez will be soon off the pitch should Arsenal have a comfortable lead in the closing stages.

It will also be interesting to see whether Gabriel and Holding remain in the positions they have been put down in on the teamsheet. Both players are comfortable at both right-back and centre-back and with Arsenal coming up against giant striker Marc Janko, it may be better for them to play the more experienced Gabriel in the middle. Holding is making just his seventh appearance of the season, and first in the Champions League.

We've spoken about Granit Xhaka's connection with the home side but Mohamed Elneny will also be hoping to feature after spending three-and-a-half years at Basel. During that time, he scored nine times in 142 games so he will be up for making a good impression in front of familiar faces.

While Basel have failed to win in this season's Champions League, they are running away with the Swiss top flight after earning success in 14 of their 17 domestic games. However, their one and only defeat came at the weekend as they lost 3-1 to Young Boys - their nearest rivals. Still, they remain 12 points ahead of them in the standings so chances are it is only a minor blip.

PREDICTION! Despite the margin which separates the clubs in Group A, we expect this match to be tight. We aren't confident that Arsenal's defence will be able to keep a clean sheet against their Swiss hosts but like most matches, Alexis Sanchez may be the difference. The Gunners to prevail 3-1.

As always, we have all the big games covered at Sports Mole so as well as this match, you can also follow the fixtures involving Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Like the sound of that? Click here to take your pick.

It's time for the two teams to walk out in front of a passionate following at St Jakob-Park. Arsenal fans have travelled in their numbers but the home crowd will no doubt make a fair old noise too.

Slightly later than scheduled, we finally get underway.

Wenger's not messing about with his coat tonight. It's very cold in Switzerland so someone has (probably) zipped it up for him. Arsenal have started relatively brightly but Basel have had the one surge forward so far.

Ramsey's just tried his luck with an ambitious shot from distance but it was deflected harmlessly wide for a corner. The set piece came to nothing with the delivery from beating the first man.

GOAL! Basel 0-1 Arsenal (Perez)

Arsenal take the lead and for once, it's not Sanchez who has scored it. That's not to say he didn't play a huge part in the goal. A floated ball from Sanchez found Gibbs, before the left-back played a pass across the box for Perez to control and tap home into an empty net. Quality team goal from the Gunners.

The visitors deserve their lead but Basel are pushing forward in numbers for an equaliser. Steffen found himself in space on the edge of the area but he rushed his shot and dragged it wide of the post. Basel need at least a draw from this match so don't be surprised to read about them going for goals.

GOAL! Basel 0-2 Arsenal (Perez)

Perez has scored again! It's another tap-in from pretty much the same position too. Ozil's sensational pass found Gibbs, whose shot across goal was only parried by Vaclik. It gave Perez the simple task of firing home from inside the six-yard box and the Gunners are flying in Switzerland.

SHOT! What a strike that is from Traore. He shoots across goal from the left-side of the penalty area but his effort has vicious swerve on it and the ball only just misses the far post.

It gets even better for the Premier League club - Ludogorets have taken the lead in the Parc des Princes! No-one would have backed that. There's a long way to go but as it stands, Arsenal will top Group A.

Arsenal are coming under some pressure but they still look fairly comfortable. That Traore shot went close but aside from that, there doesn't look a whole lot of belief in the final third from Basel.

The home crowd are making plenty of noise, despite their side facing a two-goal deficit. I'm not sure if it's optimism or alcohol which is going but I'm sure it's helping keep out the cold. It's like a cold night in London so Arsenal have found it easy to adapt.

We are half-an-hour through this contest and it's been a while since either team attempted a shot. I suppose at this stage, Arsenal have no need to go on the offensive. It's all about frustrating their opponents and so far, it's working. Holding is coping well on his Champions League debut.

Janko hasn't posed the threat we expected him to bring to this game but he comes close to getting a head on a free kick whipped into the box. Unfortunately for the Austrian, Ospina connected with his punch.

BOOKING! Gibbs is the first man to go into the referee's book this evening after a strong challenge on Steffen. It looked as though the left-back got the ball but he had no complaints.

We've not seen much of Ozil and Sanchez since the two goals but they almost link up to create a chance on the edge of the area. Unfortunately for the Gunners, Balanta was alert to the danger and was able to run clear with the ball.

CHANCE! That's a brilliant save from Ospina. Steffen cut inside from the right flank and struck a shot towards the far corner, only to see the Arsenal goalkeeper smother the ball before claiming at the second attempt in front of Janko.

CHANCE! Arsenal need to be careful here - Basel are ending this first half very strongly and they've just wasted another opportunity to get back into the game. A cross towards the near post found Delgado, but he sent his header well over the bar from around 10 yards out. He was left in so much space.

HALF TIME: Basel 0-2 Arsenal

The half-time whistle goes in Switzerland and Arsenal reach the break with the two-goal advantage which they established in the first 16 minutes of the game. Basel have matched the Premier League side but Lucas Perez's goals are the difference so far.

We are back underway in Switzerland with no changes being made by either side. We will keep you informed of the goings on in Paris. You'd think PSG will be on the the attack throughout the second half at the Parc des Princes.

GOAL! Basel 0-3 Arsenal (Perez)

Unbelievable - Lucas Perez has netted his hat-trick! Gibbs fired the ball into Sanchez, who inadvertently directed it into the path of the onrushing Perez and he made no mistake in striking the ball into the far corner. That should be game over.

We now wait to see how long Wenger will leave the likes of Sanchez, Ozil and Koscielny on the pitch. They are likely to be the three names who will be substituted at some stage should the scoreline remain like this over the next 10 minutes.

CHANCE! Basel should be back in this game. An inswinging cross from Delgado finds Janko, but he directs his glancing header wide of the far post.

GOAL! Basel 0-4 Arsenal (Iwobi)

Well that is most definitely game over. It's another superb goal from the visitors with Sanchez's exquisite through-ball finding Ozil, who flicks the ball into the path of Iwobi who slots home from just over six yards out. This is turning into an outstanding night for Arsenal.

If Wenger had a radio with him, he would be listening to Paris FM because that's where his focus will lie now. PSG need to win that game to snatch top spot from Arsenal but it remains 1-0 to Ludogorets.

Uh oh. PSG have equalised in Paris through Cavani. It's going to be a long half hour for both Ludogorets and Wenger.

In all fairness to Basel, they are still giving this a go. You sense that Arsenal have dropped off mentally, especially in defence, but so far, they are just about doing enough to keep their clean sheet intact. It's more to do with Basel's lack of a clinical touch than the Gunners defending resolutely.

BOOKING! Balanta is booked for clattering into Alexis. That's Wenger's signal to get his striker off.

WOODWORK! Oh my word. Sanchez has come within inches of scoring one of the greatest free kicks of all time. From 25 yards, his swerving effort completely deceived Vaclik - actually turning the goalkeeper round the wrong way - before striking the underside of the crossbar. It's a phenomenal try.

SUBSTITUTIONS! It's time for Sanchez to get his rest alongside Ramsey. Giroud and Elneny are the men to be introduced.

Incredible scenes in Paris as Ludogorets retake the lead!!! Again, PSG need two more goals to stop Arsenal topping the group.

CHANCE! Giroud wants to get in on the act but his poke at the near post just misses the bottom corner.

SUBSTITUTION! Arsenal's final alteration of the evening sees Theo Walcott replace Ozil, who will probably pick up the Man of the Match award for his contribution tonight.

GOAL! Basel 1-4 Arsenal (Doumbia)

It's a goal that won't change the result of this game but it won't half annoy Wenger. Holding gets caught in possession by Doumbia and after playing a one-two with a teammate, he advanced into the penalty area before clipping the ball past Ospina.

It remains 2-1 to Ludogorets. Whatever happens, it's been some effort from the Bulgarians, who will be heading into the Europa League as a result of Basel losing this game.

There's still quite a lively tempo to this game but neither team are coming particularly close to netting another goal. Walcott's just had a shot deflected wide for a corner but that's as close as we have come.

There will be two minutes of added-on time.

PSG have equalised in Paris! Still one minute to go there...

FULL TIME: Basel 1-4 Arsenal

It's all over in Switzerland and it's all over in Paris! Arsenal are top of Group A after their 4-1 win over Basel and PSG's 2-2 draw against Ludogorets. What a night for the Gunners. They could still draw a big side in the last 16 but they have definitely improved their chances of further progression this evening.

That will be all from Sports Mole for this game but we hope that you can stick around for a while yet. I'm sure Wenger and co will have a bit to say over the next hour or so. Goodbye for now.

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Arsene Wenger reacts during the Champions League game between Arsenal and PSG on November 23, 2016
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
QBayern651016
QCopenhagen62228
3Galatasaray61235
4Man Utd61144

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
QArsenal641113
QPSV62319
3Lens62228
4Sevilla60242

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
QReal Madrid660018
QNapoli631210
3Braga61144
4Union Berlin60242

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
QReal Sociedad633012
QInter Milan633012
3Benfica61144
4Salzburg61144

Group E

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QAtletico642014
QLazio631210
3Feyenoord62046
4Celtic61144

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
QDortmund632111
QPSG62228
3AC Milan62228
4Newcastle61235

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
QMan City660018
QRB Leipzig640212
3Young Boys61144
4Red Star60151

Group H

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QBarcelona640212
QPorto640212
3Shakhtar63039
4Antwerp61053

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