The Gunners came away from Paris with a draw in their European opener, and face Basel in their first home group-stage clash this evening.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has told the London Evening Standard that his old side cannot let their impressive point against Paris Saint-Germain go to waste by slipping up in the “smaller” games.
The Gunners host Swiss side Basel at the Emirates Stadium tonight in their second Champions League group match, after emerging with a very credible 1-1 draw at the home of PSG a fortnight ago.
That was heralded by many as an impressive point in what most would agree was the North London’s side most difficult test of the group.
However, Arsene Wenger’s side must be wary of tonight’s opponents Basel, who count Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea amongst their European scalps in recent years.
Parlour has stressed that Arsenal must ensure that they do not join that list if they are to build upon the good foundation set in Paris.
The former Gunner told the Standard: “Champions League nights are always very special at the Emirates and they’ve done the hard bit. Going to their biggest rivals in the group and getting a draw, whether you can say it was deserved or not, they’ve got a fantastic result.
“Now it’s down to them to ensure they don’t slip up in the smaller games, knowing that they’ve still got PSG to come at the Emirates.
“It’s a great situation for them. Over the years we’ve always said, ‘we come second, second, second, let’s try to win the group this time’. It’ll give them a better opportunity of getting to the quarter-finals.”
Arsenal have a superb record of qualification from the group stage in recent years, having progressed from the initial round-robin in each of the last 16 campaigns.
However, they have not won their group since 2011-12, finishing second in each of the last four years, meanign hat they have been hande consistently difficult draws in the last 16.
It would be a huge boost if they could top the group this time around and potentially ease their passage to a first quarter-final in seven years.
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