Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

FC Zurich 1-2 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners begin UEL campaign with win

By James Cormack

ST GALLEN, SWITZERLAND - SEPTEMBER 08: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal celebrates after scoring their team's second goal during the UEFA Europa League group A match between FC Zürich and Arsenal FC at Kybunpark on September 08, 2022 in St Gallen, Switzerland. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images)
ST GALLEN, SWITZERLAND - SEPTEMBER 08: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal celebrates after scoring their team's second goal during the UEFA Europa League group A match between FC Zürich and Arsenal FC at Kybunpark on September 08, 2022 in St Gallen, Switzerland. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

Arsenal opened their 2022/23 Europa League account with a 2-1 victory over FC Zurich in St. Gallen on Thursday evening.

The Gunners seized total control after taking the lead on the counter through debutant Marquinhos but a lapse in concentration from Eddie Nketiah allowed the hosts to equalise from the spot just before half-time.

A minute’s silence was held before the players went out for the second half following the sad announcement of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

The dynamic of the contest didn’t change at the start of the second half with Arsenal persistently probing against Zurich’s low block. Eventually, the visitors were rewarded as Nketiah headed in from Marquinhos’ teasing cross.

Mikel Arteta then introduced the big guns off the bench but the Gunners were unable to grab a third. Nevertheless, Zurich barely posed a threat at the other end and the visitors thus claimed a 2-1 victory to kick-start their European campaign.

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from their Europa League victory against Zurich.

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Matt Turner was unable to keep a clean sheet on his first competitive start for the club. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Matt Turner was unable to keep a clean sheet on his first competitive start for the club. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) /

Matt Turner (GK) – 5/10 – A nervy start and he wasn’t able to keep a clean sheet on debut.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (RB) – 6/10 – Nice to see him back in the starting XI and he produced a typically sound performance. Took up an inverted role for much of the match and wasn’t afraid to contribute further forward.

Rob Holding (CB) – 5.5/10 – Got away with a late foul due to offside in an otherwise quiet display. Not great with the ball, and didn’t have to do much defending.

Gabriel (CB) – 5.5/10 – Defended pretty well for the most part but his work on the ball left plenty to be desired. There were a couple of poor errors in the opening period.

Kieran Tierney (LB) – 7/10 – This was the best iteration of Tierney that I’ve seen in a long time. The Scotsman was dynamic throughout and made plenty of marauding runs. He also occupied a more central zone when necessary. Made a brilliant block in the first half, too.

Continued on the next slide…