Theo Walcott scored twice as Arsenal beat BATE Borisov 4-2  in an open encounter in their Europa League group-stage clash in Belarus
Walcott's early double put the visitors in control, Rob Holding's close-range finish made it 3-0, but Mirko Ivanic pulled one back before the break for BATE
Olivier Giroud regained the three-goal cushion with a penalty after half-time, but Mikhail Gordeichuk made it 4-2 with just over 20 minutes remaining from six yards
The result means Arsenal are in control of Group H, sitting top with six points from two games, two points ahead of Red Star Belgrade
Arsenal went close early on through Walcott, who hit the post via Jack Wilshere's deft through ball, but Walcott did score moments later, tapping home on the rebound after his initial header from Wilshere's superbly-worked cross was saved
An error from BATE goalkeeper Denis Shcherbitski handed Walcott his second, capitalising on a woeful clearance before drilling into the bottom left corner from 12 yards
It was 3-0 within 25 minutes as Holding got his first Arsenal goal, turning into the net from close range after Walcott's corner was glanced on by Per Mertesacker
BATE pulled one back three minutes later through Ivanic, who headed into the top right corner from the near post from Aleksey Rios' pacey cross
Walcott was inches from a hat-trick before the break, forcing Shcherbitski into a superb fingertip save, before Holding hit the post from the resulting corner as BATE struggled to deal with Arsenal's set pieces
It was 4-1 just after the break as Stanislav Dragun pulled the shirt of Shkodran Mustafi inside the box, with Giroud making no mistake from the penalty spot for his 100th Arsenal goal
The sixth goal of the night fell to the hosts as Gordeichuk cleaned up from six yards after David Ospina had parried a close-range header, and moments later Aleksandr Volodko blazed over a clear chance from 12 yards out as Arsenal began to show fragility in the closing stages
"Wilshere had an outstanding first half
 He fights until the end
 He's on his way back to his best and showed that
 He's at an age where a player normally gets to the best of his career
 He's on the way up
 He's only been stopped by a series of injuries
"Hopefully, I just pray, he is not hampered by any more problems and that will see him getting stronger and stronger
 He's shown again that he's not lost his football
"Making his second start in just over a week, Wilshere reminded us all why Arsenal fans fell in love with him in the first place
The midfielder's first thought was always to penetrate the BATE defence, and with a mix of balance and skill, the Belarusian side had no answer early on
His assist for Walcott's second, a lovely piece of skill and cross from the left, summed Wilshere up, but can he stay fit and keep that form up enough to be considered in Premier League games?Arsenal host Brighton at midday on Sunday in the Premier League, before going to Watford a fortnight later after international break
 Their next Europa League game is in Belgrade against Red Star on October 19
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