Eddie Nketiah made it 12 goals in his last 15 starts to help Arsenal produce one of the most comfortable football results of the weekend in the Europa League. Arsenal made eight changes from the team that defeated Tottenham 3-1 last weekend in preparation for this weekend’s Super Sunday match with Liverpool, but they were still able to easily take the lead in the first half thanks to goals from Nketiah and Holding.
Bodo/Glimt received support from 5% of their 55,000-person town at the Emirates Stadium and did improve after the interval, but Arsenal held them at a distance the entire evening. Mikel Arteta substituted Gabriel Jesus for the Gunners, and the Brazilian did a fantastic job of setting up Fabio Vieira, who scored on his first home start for the Gunners after crashing high into the goal.
Vieira put Arteta’s Gunners on the board within the opening 10 minutes, and they came out of the gates firing. In the penalty area, Nketiah sent the ball to him, but the Portuguese midfielder’s rasping attempt struck the top of the crossbar. Nevertheless, Arsenal quickly benefited from the woodwork. During a break, Kieran Tierney was passed down the left by Gabriel Martinelli, and the Scotsman then blasted a shot that hit the inside of the post. Nketiah was available to capitalize on the rebound into an open goal.
Four minutes later, Arsenal scored once again. When Vieira’s corner was cleared to the midfielder, who then crossed for Holding to score at the back post, no Bodo defender was present. Arsenal had more opportunities to score before halftime but only gave Bodo one half-chance in the first period. Granit Xhaka challenged Nikita Haikin’s hands with a free-kick just outside the box, giving Vieira another chance in the box.
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