Arsenal 2-0 Basel - Match Reaction

[Master Splinter]

We turned an 8-0 into a 2-0.

Amazing first half.

Alexis and Theo in great form.

Arsenal .

Wenger .

Federer .

[Niall_Quinn]

If we can regularly play like we did in that first half then we have a chance to do something this season. And even if we don't do something, it will still be worth watching. Second half - not so much. I think Wenger does shit just to annoy the fans or try to pretend he's on some different plane of existence where his stupid substitutions make sense. But even Wenger can't ruin that first half. Very enjoyable.

[Marc Overmars]

Another bet won on there being no goals in the 2nd half.

We played some lovely stuff tonight, could and should have scored at least 4 or 5.

Dunno what Theo has taken, he's playing like a man possessed. Good to see him play consistently well for a change.

Nice to see the Emirates buzzing again after the atrocity that was the tail end of last season.

[Xhaka Can’t]

The first half took us back 15 years.

It was that good.


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[LDG]

Joined for the second half after putting the kids to bed.

Damn it!

Magic that we're finally starting to play the football we've all been hoping for. More of the same please!

[I am invisible]

Lovely stuff again. Everything we do feels so urgent and purposeful at the moment, and there's still plenty of room for improvement in every area of the side - that's an encouraging, frightening thought.

I think the most immediate thing we need to work on is cutting out all the hollywood finishes until we're at least 3 or 4 up - it's been said already, but we really should have been about 8 up by half time, and I doubt that anyone would have been overly bothered if we'd eased up for the last half an hour if the score had been even half that?

Still, it's an excellent platform to build on - we're carving out clear chances almost at will, and there seems to be a genuine hunger for more.

[Letters]

Missed it. Apparently it's not the done thing to take one's wife to Venice for our anniversary and then insist on watching the football . Whoop-ah!
Seen the goals. Nice. I'm fine with no goals in the second half on Saturday and today, it's nice to crush teams but realistically that rarely happens. The Invincibles team used to crush the opposition early and then take their foot off the gas, it's just not possible to play with that intensity for 90 minutes every game.
Starting to look good and build up some momentum. But early to get excited but when they click they're looking like the real deal.

[I am invisible]

Theo

What an absolute shame it's taken this long for the penny to drop with him about that wide attacking role!

Sanchez

Still learning the job, but... could this guy really be the world-class CF we've been after? God I hope so...

[Power n Glory]

Has to our best performance in years. We put on a show for once. A totally dominant performance and highly entertaining. The whole team seemed to find their groove and it took me back to a time where I really enjoyed watching us play. The fact we didn’t slaughter them may be a good thing. It keeps the team humble and knowing that they still have to work on their finishing.

I think the biggest change to our game is Sanchez up front. Having someone with the ability to drop deep to link up play, able to make runs beyond defenders and come out on top for one on one situations with defenders has made a huge difference. He played some sublime passes. His movement kept them guessing and his presence changes everything for our attacking players. Now they have more options. Giroud was a barrier to that. His lack of movement wouldn’t create space for others because he’d never pull defenders anywhere or leave them confused. This takes out all the rubbish about needing someone strong to hold the ball up. That sort of play makes us more static and slow. It’s good to see that we’ve stuck with Sanchez even through the tough times because we’re now seeing the potential.

Theo was an absolute beast as well. I’ve always thought he’d be better playing as a striker and still think he’s capable if we ever need him to play there. But that was one heck of a performance from him last night. It was complete. His passing was sharp and he set up some good chances, his touch was great, he was driving forward with purpose, he was defending well and putting his body on the line….heck of a performance. He’s working really well with Sanchez and long may it continue. When his backs against the wall, he usually comes out fighting and I hope he keeps a clean bill of health and nothing interrupts him this year.

Overall it was a heck of a performance. Something has clicked with this team and I now have hope.

[Gooner23]

Lets not get carried away, we've had good runs of form before and seen it all peter out in familiar fashion.

I agree there are some good signs though. I certainly think its our strongest squad for some time, and with Theo and Iwobi performing well on the wings it allows Sanchez the freedom to play up front.