Fresh Football Fresh quotes, opinion and reaction to the beautiful game.
Confidence will be high in the Arsenal camp after they moved up to second in the Premier League table following a 5-1 win over West Ham, and now the Gunners travel to Basel with qualification in the Champions League already secured.
Mathieu Debuchy and Hector Bellerin leave Wenger a selection headache at right-back again whilst he is still missing long-term absentees Santi Cazorla, Chuba Akpom, Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck are all out.
In order to finish top of the group, Arsenal must win and then rely on a PSG slip up against Ludogorets, and with this in mind Arsene Wenger might look to make a few rotations but still field a strong side to maintain the teams winning momentum. Here is the predicted 4-2-3-1 line-up to face Basel in the Champions League.
GK: David Ospina
The Arsenal goalkeeper has been subject to a little bit of criticism recently from Arsenal fans, but I do expect him to replace Petr Cech here as he usually does for the Champions League fixtures. On his day, he can be a very useful keeper.
RB: Gabriel Paulista
Carl Jenkinson was slammed for his performance in the EFL Cup last week in the 0-2 defeat at the hands of Southampton, and Paulista played alright against West Ham. He should keep his place again in Basel.
CB: Shkodran Mustafi
Mustafi has been a success ever since making the £35m switch from Valencia and has formed a very strong partnership with Koscielny at the heart of the defence. I expect Arsene Wenger to field a fairly strong team in Basel, and Mustafi should keep his place.
CB: Lauren Koscielny
As I have said, the partnership built up between Mustafi and Koscielny has been one that Arsenal fans love, and with Alexis Sanchez firing well up front it is a recipe for success. He should start once again here.
LB: Kieran Gibbs
Arsene Wenger should pick a strong side, but there are expected to be changes. Nacho Monreal has been in decent form of late, but Kieran Gibbs could take his place for the clash in Basel as the duo continue to contest for the left-back berth.
CDM: Granit Xhaka
The big money signing of the summer has not always featured under Wenger this season, but he played well on Saturday against West Ham, and he should keep his place in the starting line-up here, going to his former club.
CDM: Mohamed Elneny
Elneny recovered from illness to come on as a late substitute and will be pushing for a start here ahead of Francis Coquelin, and I think that he might get that starting place in the final group stage game, especially because, like Xhaka, this game will be a bit of a homecoming for him.
RAM: Theo Walcott
Walcott has been a much-improved player this season and netted against Bournemouth in the last Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium. He was replaced after 66 minutes by Aaron Ramsey on Saturday, and Arsene Wenger might have had this fixture in mind.
CAM: Mesut Ozil
Ozil got back amongst the goals in the Premier League on Saturday, and although it was just a tap-in, he was in the right place at the right time - something he has done much more frequently this season. Ozil has played well this season in the Champions League and will be a key figure for Arsenal here.
LAM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Oxlade-Chamberlain also started on Saturday against West Ham, and also bagged himself a goal in the 5-1 thrashing. He has been decent form, and will probably start on the left-wing against Basel.
ST: Olivier Giroud
Giroud has returned to training after not making the squad on Saturday. With qualification secured, and with Arsenal relying on a PSG slip up at home against Ludogorets to finish top, Arsene Wenger might see this as an opportunity to rest key man Alexis Sanchez and start fit-again Giroud.
