All Arsenal can do on Tuesday is beat Basel and hope Ludogorets somehow manage to at least hold Paris Saint-Germain to a draw in Paris. If not, Arsenal will end up in second place in a Champions League group, yet again.
Too many times in the recent past, Arsenal have thrown away the opportunity to top the group and with it avoid a possible encounter with a team like a Barcelona or Bayern Munich.
They had the chance to top the group two weeks ago, when a win against PSG at home would have guaranteed them top spot. However, all they could manage was a scarcely deserved 2-2 draw, leaving PSG in pole position to finish first in Group A, owing to a better head-to-head record.
This season, coming in second might not be such a bad thing, considering Bayern Munich and Real Madrid lie in wait. Bayern will only finish second in their group, while there is a solid chance of Real Madrid doing the same as well, depending on how their match against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday goes. Arsenal, though, could end up drawing Barcelona, again, if they finish second in Group A.
Whatever the scenario, Arsenal must go into this Basel match with a win in mind, and that intent has been made clear by the fact that Arsene Wenger has taken a strong squad to Switzerland. The likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Laurent Koscielny have all travelled, which suggests Wenger will name a strong starting XI against Basel, and then decide to rest his players, depending on how the PSG vs Ludogorets match, to be played at the same time, is panning out.
"My main priority will be to win the game," Wenger said. "Overall, it's about stability. But we have to do our job, and continue to win the games we play. You never know what might be happening in Paris. We'll see.
"PSG are favourites to beat Ludogorets at home and win the group, but we can assess that scoreline at half-time and see where we go."
This match is also an important one for Basel, who are in a similar position to Arsenal. In order to qualify for the Europa League, Basel must better Ludogorets' result, owing to their inferior head-to-head record to the Bulgarian club. That means, Urs Fischer's men are likely to go all out for a win, which could suit Arsenal, who beat Basel 2-0 in the reverse fixture.
"If we want to get anything from this game we're going to have to be at our best," Fischer said. "If we can play at our best we can get a result, but we need a bit of luck too.
"I think Arsenal will put out their best side. They are very efficient. They're very dangerous going forward."
Where to Watch Live
Basel vs Arsenal is set to begin at 1.15am IST (7.45pm GMT, 8.45pm CET). Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: TV: Ten 2. Live Streaming: Ten Sports live and Ditto TV.
UK: TV: BT Sport 2. Live Streaming: Watch BT Sport.
Switzerland: TV: SRF Zwei and Sky Sports.
USA: TV: Fox Sports and ESPN3. Live Streaming: Foxsoccer2go.
Canada: TV: TSN 1. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
France, Middle East, North Africa, Australia: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
MalaysiaTV: Astro SuperSport.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: SuperSport3. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
