LONDON -- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is wary of Basel's threat in the Champions League after seeing the Swiss side's success against English clubs in recent years.
The Gunners were drawn in a group with Paris Saint-Germain, Basel and Bulgarian club Ludogorets on Thursday. And while Wenger believes PSG are favourites to top the group, he said Arsenal will have to be cautious when they play Basel, who beat Chelsea twice in 2013 and knocked Manchester United out of the competition in 2011 by winning their last group match.
He said: "If you look at their record against English teams you become cautious because they have done extremely well against Chelsea, against Manchester. I believe we have to be on our toes and prepare very well."
The games against Basel will carry extra meaning for two of Arsenal's latest additions. Mohamed Elneny was bought from the Swiss club in January, and Granit Xhaka began his professional career there before moving to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Xhaka's brother Taulant still plays for the club, meaning the siblings will face each other again -- as they did at Euro 2016 when Switzerland played Albania.
Wenger said Basel's success in Europe has been helped by their domestic dominance -- they've won the Swiss league in each of the last seven years -- but also by their ability to find good players abroad.
"They are the dominant team in Switzerland so they do a little bit what they want in their own country," Wenger said. "They have a good coaching system, good coaches in Switzerland. They have made good use of the development system. And Basel especially have done some good scouting when you think about [Mohamed] Salah, Elneny, players who come from Egypt where maybe the English clubs don't go too much. They have been shrewd and scouted in countries with a less competitive edge maybe from big leagues."
Arsenal have been knocked out in the round of 16 in each of the last six years, and may need to win the group to end that run as it would likely result in an easier draw. They will begin their Champions League campaign at PSG next month, and Wenger said the big-spending French champions will pose a formidable challenge.
"Maybe Paris Saint-Germain are the favourites [in the group]," he said. "They have big ambition. But we want to qualify of course and if possible finish first in the group. We start in Paris, so that will be a very interesting test. Because they are a team that has absolutely unlimited financial potential and that have bought really well. But of course we want to challenge that. We'll see."