Mikel Arteta’s men bounced back from their loss against Man Utd with a narrow win.
Arsenal defeated FC Zurich 2-1 in their Europa League opener on Thursday. The Swiss side put up a good fight but couldn’t prevent Arsenals’ winning start to the tournament.
Nketiah scores the winner!
Arsenal started the game by dominating the possession, creating several chances early on.
Following a host of missed opportunities, Marquinhos opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 16th minute.
A lightning-fast counter-attack saw Eddie Nketiah provide a brilliant cross for Marquinhos, who then smashed the ball into the top corner of the net.
The Gunners tried to maintain their dominance but faced stiff resistance from Zurich, who pushed to score the equalizer.
Nketiah brought Fidan Aliti down inside the box, convincing the referee to award the hosts a penalty. Mirlind Kryeziu then stepped up to convert the spot-kick, making it 1-1 just before halftime.
Arsenal started pushing to restore their lead as soon as the second period started.
Zurich also made a few attempts to complete their comebacks, but it was Arsenal who finally scored the winner through Nketiah.
The English star converted a precise cross from Marquinhos to make it 2-1 just before the hour-mark.
Both Zurich and Arsenal had chances to change the result after Nketiah’s goal. But the game ended with Arsenal’s narrow win as they bounced back from their first Premier League defeat of the season against Manchester United.
The Gunners hope to stay at the top of the EPL table by beating Everton in their next league game on Sunday.
Player Ratings
Zurich: Brecher (7); Kryeziu (7), Kamberl (6), Aliti (7); Boranijasevic (7), Dzemaili (5), Selnaes (6), Krasniqi (6), Guerrero (5); Okita (6), Tosin (6).
Bench: Marchesano (5), Avdijaj (6), Rohner (6), Conde (7), Santini (7).
Arsenal: Turner (7); Tomiyasu (7), Holding (7), Gabriel (6); Marquinhos (7), Xhaka (8), Lokonga (7), Tierney (7); F. Vieira (6), Martinelli (7); Nketiah (8).
Bench: Zinchenko (6), Odegaard (6), Saka (7), Jesus (7).
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