2 years ago
After defeating Zurich 1-0 at home on Thursday, Arsenal secured first place in Group A of the Europa League thanks to Kieran Tierney's outstanding goal.
The team led by Mikel Arteta was defeated 2-0 by PSV in their previous European match, but they bounced back with a much-improved performance to avoid the competition's knockout stage play-offs.
Tierney's thunderous first-half goal at Emirates Stadium—where Adria Guerrero had a second-half equalizer disallowed in an otherwise dominant Arsenal performance—proved to be the game's winner.
After winning the group, which PSV finished second in, Arsenal will avoid teams like Barcelona and Juventus in the draw on Monday. Bo Henriksen's team was eliminated from Europe after coming in last after finishing last.
Zurich had lost all five of their away games in Europe against English teams, but they got off to a promising start when Lindrit Kamberi missed the target with a respectable opening shot.
But after 17 minutes, Tierney pounced on a loose ball and sent a left-footed half-volley from outside the box into the bottom-right corner to give Arsenal the lead.
As Arsenal looked to capitalize on the momentum following Tierney's opening goal, Yanick Brecher stopped Eddie Nketiah's header from Fabio Vieira's corner.
After the break, Gabriel Jesus strangely missed before Guerrero completed past Aaron Ramsdale on the rebound, but the offside flag prevented him from scoring an equalizer and giving Zurich a share of the points.
WHY DOES THAT MATTER? CONTINUED COMFORTS EUROPE FOR A STRONG ARSENAL
Arsenal, who are now in first place in the Premier League, have turned their home field in north London into something of a fortress when playing at home, and the same can be said of their performances abroad.
The Gunners' impressive start to the season continues as they have lost just one of their previous 20 home group games in significant European competition, winning six of those games in a row.
Even though they will face more difficult challenges at Chelsea on Sunday and in the later stages of the Europa League's elimination rounds, Arteta's team continues to dazzle both at home and abroad.
VIEIRA IS VIVACIOUS
After joining Arsenal from Porto during the most recent transfer window, Vieira had to wait patiently for his time, but he earned it with a strong showing here.
The 22-year-old, who serves as Martin Odegaard's assistant most of the time, seemed to be everywhere on the field as he generated a game-high four opportunities in a promising attacking performance.
NEXT, WHAT?
On Sunday, Zurich travels to Lugano in the Swiss Super League, while Arsenal plays Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a crucial Premier League matchup.
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