What a great night in Basel (and in Paris as well)!

I have to admit, I didn’t expect much from this match against Basel, and would have even been okay with weaker lineup and a draw, but Wenger didn’t think the same.

A slightly surprising lineup from the big man, with a lot of first team players starting, but he still made six changes from the win against West Ham. The bench looked solid but there was no need for boosts – the team that started did the job.

David Ospina – 7

Shame he couldn’t keep his clean sheet, but it was hardly his fault. Ospina was great during the whole match, saved quite a lot tough balls and kept us going. I’m starting to feel more comfortable with him in goal but still not sure I’d like to see him against, say, Bayern or Real Madrid.

Gabriel – 7

Who knew Gabriel could be a decent right back? After a really good performance against the Hammers, he was great on Wednesday night as well. Well, it’s not like Basel gave him much trouble, but he looked comfortable. He’s no Hector when it comes to attacking, but no one really expects that from him anyway.

Rob Holding – 7

Lee said when lineups were announced that no one predicted Holding starting. And, that’s probably true. This was the biggest surprise in the line up and it paid off. Again, it’s not like Basel put our defence in danger like some other teams would, but they did press and our defence held well. Rob was composed, looked older than he is. Well, until he gave away the ball for Basel’s only goal, but the match was over and everyone was relaxed so it’s not that big deal.

Laurent Koscielny – 7.5

I’m running out of words to compliment this man and the way he’s defending. Composed, comfortable, safe, makes it look so easy, clinical. What else? Simply Koscielny.

Kieran Gibbs – 8

I was expecting Nacho to keep his place after a good match over the weekend but I’m glad Gibbs stepped in. A great match for our Gibbo with three assists and a great performance in defence as well. He was constantly going forward and joining in attacks, which paid off almost always. Some sweet troubles for Wenger in that position.

Granit Xhaka – 8

Finally, Xhaka-Ramsey midfield *heart eyes emoji*. And boy, it was good. Xhaka was great against his former club and current brother. He was bossing the midfield, intercepting their attacks, tackling without fouls or yellow cards, and always passing forward to create attacks. It was great to watch him.

Aaron Ramsey – 7.5

Ramsey wasn’t as good as Xhaka but still had a really good match in the midfield. He was a bit quiet but looked much better than in previous matches. I just think he is still not fit enough and will only get better.

Alex Iwobi – 7.5

After a few underwhelming performances, Iwobi showed us what he can do once again. He scored our last goal which was just a cherry on top of a very good performance from the young Nigerian.

Mesut Özil – 8.5

Nicking a living again, looking lazy and uninterested, that Mesut. Surely, he didn’t have the most passes or the best pass accuracy, but he does so much more – he creates space, where you don’t think there is any, and he makes it look so easy and so effortless that, indeed, many think he’s lazy. Mesut added one more assist to his name as well. I still giggle when I see him in an Arsenal shirt.

Lucas Perez – 9

Man of the match because of his first half. What a signing this man is! We bombarded Twitter with stats about his Arsenal career so far and they are just too good. He scores a goal approximately every 60 minutes. In this match alone, he scored more goals then Spurs did in five Champions League games this season. The. Whole. Tottenham. Team.

All 3 Lucas’s goals came from Gibbs but also from brilliant buildup play before the last pass. Wengerball with a great poacher up front.

Alexis Sanchez – 8

I admit, I thought we would rest Alexis and I was wrong once again. This man doesn’t know how to rest. Great match, constant running, constant threat. And that free kick, ooohhhh, if that went in…brilliantly taken. I am amazed with this man and always will be.


Theo Walcott – 6

Looked good when he came on, you could see his pace. Very poor shot on goal when he could have done better.

Mohamed Elneny – 6

Did well in the midfield.

Olivier Giroud – 6

Glad to see him back, and he was close to scoring as well.