Arsenal 1-0 FC Zurich: 3 talking points as Gunners clinch group

Arsenal secured a nervy 1-0 win over FC Zurich at the Emirates on Thursday night as a first-half Kieran Tierney strike was enough for the Gunners to clinch Group A.

Mikel Arteta named a heavily rotated squad, as expected. Mo Elneny made his first start since August after picking up a thigh injury. Oleksander Zinchenko was on the bench as he returned along with Bukayo Saka. Reiss Nelson started after his two-goal heroics against Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

Despite a poor start, Arsenal took the lead after 16 minutes through Tierney, who crashed home from the edge of the area. The rest of the half never hit any real heights as the Gunners had several chances to double their lead but were rebuffed by Zurich each time.

The second half was a tense affair as Arsenal couldn’t kill the game off. But, they managed to hold on to secure a one-nil win which saw them top Group A as a result.

Arsenal 1-0 FC Zurich: 3 talking points as Gunners clinch group

The game provided plenty of talking points, here they are.

1. Arsenal win the group… barely

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but Mikel Arteta’s side got the job done….just. With the win, Arsenal tops Group A and will now go straight through to the Round of 16.

It also means they avoid the bigger teams in the competition and avoid an extra two midweek matches for the Round of 32.

Continued on the next slide…