Arsenal 2, FC Zurich 1

Arsenal’s Premier League match against Everton was postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. However, Arsenal did begin their Europa League campaign with a trip to Switzerland to play FC Zurich. Arsenal won 2-1. Let’s get into the match review for Arsenal’s first Europa League match of the season.

The Positives

Arsenal can take quite a few positive things away from this performance. First, Arsenal created plenty of chances and could easily have won by a more convincing scoreline. Arsenal did well in breaking down FC Zurich’s defense.

Another positive from this match was Matt Turner. Turner started off a little shaky, but he grew into the game as it went on. He claimed crosses, made some saves, and overall played well. 

Marquinhos was also a huge positive from this match. He scored Arsenal’s first goal of the match and provided the assist to Eddie Nketiah for Arsenal’s second goal of the match. He was excellent. Marquinhos had a fantastic debut for Arsenal’s senior team. 

Nketiah was also very good, as well. He scored Arsenal’s second goal of the match with a good header. He could have scored again, as well. It is good to see Nketiah get his first goal in the Europa League this season. 

Xhaka also controlled the game well in Arsenal’s midfield. He made good runs into the box and really drove Arsenal forward. It was a good match for Xhaka back in his home nation of Switzerland. 

The Negatives

The major negative was Nketiah giving away the penalty in the first half. It was a rash challenge by Nketiah in the box and he paid the price for it. He did ultimately redeem himself in the second half, though. 

Fabio Vieira did make his first start for Arsenal. He did seem a bit rusty, though. However, he will likely play even better once he has some match sharpness. 

Arsenal wasn’t as clinical in front of goal as they could have been. Arsenal will have to continue working on capitalizing on chances and putting games away in the upcoming weeks. Thankfully, Arsenal still got all three points anyway. 

Arsenal Got Off to a Winning Start in the Europa League

I wouldn’t say that Arsenal’s 2-1 against FC Zurich was an excellent performance from them. However, Arsenal still collected all three points and began their Europa League campaign on a positive note. Arsenal is also the betting favorite to win the Europa League. Hopefully, this will be the first step toward Arsenal winning the competition. Check back in next week for the match review of Arsenal vs. Brentford in the Premier League.