Thanks for joining me for the big match. Nick Ames’ report will be with you soon.
Join Scott Murray for Manchester United v Real Sociedad.
As Kevin Campbell says Arsenal were not clinical and need to learn how to put teams away.
Full-time: FC Zurich 1-2 Arsenal
Maybe it should have been easier for Arsenal considering their dominance from start to finish but they got the job done in the end. Zurich stuck to their task as best they could but Arsenal showed their superiority for the majority of the game.
90+2 mins: Arsenal are looking to keep the ball and see out the final few minutes.
90 mins: Four minutes added on.
89 mins: Holding tajes down Santini on the edge of the box and the referee awards a free kick but the assistant has his flag up.
88 mins: Martinelli sprints down the left, holds the ball up to wait for his teammates to arrive, Jesus gets there, takes a touch and hits a shot that is turned behind.
86 mins: Saka gets round the back but Zurich recover to only concede a corner.
84 mins: Conde takes down Saka out of frustration. He is lucky to get away without a booking.
82 mins: Jesus receives the ball on the edge of the box, cuts in onto his left foot and attempts a shot but it is short of power and is held by the goalkeeper.
80 mins: Arsenal still struggling to create a good chance to finish this game off.
78 mins: Jesus is lined up to come on. Nketiah off.
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76 mins: Zurich will need to touch the ball if they are to equalise again and they have not since my last update.
74 mins: Saka pulls a cross back behind his three teammates waiting in the box. Arsenal need to finish this off.
72 mins: Okita and Tosin look to play a one-two but Arsenal read the danger and the ball is cleared.
Xhaka is down. Will he be able to continue?
70 mins: A very good debut for Marquinhos. A goal and assists is not a bad way to start your Arsenal career.
68 mins: Zinchenko, Odegaard and Saka are on for Arsenal now, too. Big couple of minutes for the fourth official.
Tierney, Vieira and Marquinhos off.
66 mins: Martinelli is pulled down in the centre circle.
Zurich are lining up a triple substitution.
64 mins: Arsenal need to make the most of their dominance now and finish this match as a contest quickly.
GOAL! FC Zurich 1-2 Arsenal (Nketiah, 62)
The centre forward makes up for giving away the penalty by getting away from his marker at the back post to head home a perfect Marquinhos cross.
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61 mins: Xhaka flicks the ball over the top for Martinelli who tries to volley it first time but the ball is behind him a little and he can only send his shot over.
59 mins: Tosin, 45 yards out, spots Turner off his line and tries to go over the Arsenal goalkeeper but he reacts in time to avoid embarrassment.
57 mins: Arsenal move the ball quickly for once; a few passes from one side of the pitch to the other allow Tierney to slip a pass through for Martinelli but he is off balance and the ball flies over.
55 mins: Nketiah drives into the box, bulldozes his way through a couple of defenders but his shot is deflected into the goalkeeper’s arms.
53 mins: Xhaka picks up the ball near the halfway line and drills a pass into the feet of Tierney who has drifted inside; the Scot takes a touch and pings a low shot from 18 yards but the goalkeeper is fully behind it.
51 mins: Once again, it is all quite slow when Arsenal are on the ball.
49 mins: Zurich are yet to have a touch in this half.
47 mins: Martinelli gets into the box and takes aim for the far post but a defender gets in the way to head behind.
Arsenal are certainly on top in the early stages. Nketiah receives the ball on the edge of the box and curls a shot that goes just over.
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Second half
Here we go again!
There is a minute’s silence before the start of the second half.
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Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, dies aged 96
For more on this breaking news.
Half time: Zurich 1-1 Arsenal
Arsenal have been utterly dominant but Nketiah cancelled his fine work to create the opener with a silly foul in the box to gift an equaliser.
45 mins: All the flags are being waved once more and there are a lot of flares being let off behind the goal. Zurich have hope. Arteta will be fuming Arsenal are level.
One minute added on.
GOAL! FC Zurich 1-1 Arsenal (Kryeziu, pen, 44)
The defender sends Turner the wrong way to equaliser.
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42 mins: PENALTY! Zurich win another corner. It is swung in from the right by Selnaes but Holding clears. The ball comes back into the box and Nketiah sweeps away the feet of Aliti.
40 mins: It’s all a bit pedestrian as Arsenal look to find a gap in the Zurich defence. The Swiss side have everyone behind the ball to make things hard.
38 mins: Arsenal are reasserting control by slowly passing the ball around the back.
1 - Marquinhos is the first player since Raphael Meade vs Panathinaikos in September 1981 to make his competitive debut for Arsenal in a European game and score in that fixture. Entrance. pic.twitter.com/0LU0gDZKGb
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 8, 2022
36 mins: Nice to see a bit of endeavour from Zurich. Arsenal are looking to regain control.
34 mins: A corner from the left is caught by Zurich goalkeeper Brecher who immediately lobs the ball out, only for Tierney to sweep up on the halfway line.
Zurich get the ball back and have their first attack of note. Okita gets down the right and pulls the ball back, it is missed by one teammate, eventually reaching the back post but Tierney is there to block the shot.
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32 mins: “Is Emile Smith-Rowe injured?” asks Alex Whitney. “If memory serves he’s not started a Prem League match this season, I’d assumed he’d start this one.”
He has, reportedly, suffered issues with his groin.
30 mins: Zurich do have a shot but it turns out the player is offside.
28 mins: Zurich are doing their best to stay compact and keep Arsenal out but a second seems inevitable.
26 mins: I can’t remember when Zurich last put two passes together. This is all a bit of a parade for Arsenal. There is a huge gulf in class. Arteta will be desperate for a second goal and then he can pour a glass of wine.
24 mins: Arsenal camp out on the edge of the Zurich box, eventually getting the ball out to Marquinhos who tries to go round Guerrero but the defender robustly challenges the Brazilian to give away a corner. Zurich clear but the ball comes back, allowing Xhaka to ping a shot from the edge towards the bottom corner; the goalkeeper gets down well to tip the ball wide.
22 mins: It is very much all Arsenal now. The flag waving from behind the goal is spirited but the Zurich fans look like they are in for a long night.
20 mins: Vieira swings in the free-kick but it is a poor effort and Zurich whack it clear at the front post.
He almost makes up for it moments later by latching onto a Lokonga pass over the top but Vieira’s first-time lob lands on top of the net.
18 mins: A late challenge from Kryeziu takes out Marquinhos on the right touchline, resulting in a booking for the Zurich defender.
GOAL! FC Zurich 0-1 Arsenal (Marquinhos, 16)
A debut goal for the Brazilian. He legs it from the edge of his own box to give Nketiah an option for the cross, after he receives a fine pass from Vieira to start a counter, which he executes perfectly to make the first-time finish into the top corner relatively simple from 10 yards.
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14 mins: Martinelli decides the best idea is to attempt an overhead kick with the ball bouncing slowly in his direction. Needless to say, it goes badly and the ball loops wide.
12 mins: Arsenal up the tempo, moving the ball quickly out to the right from where Marquinhos crosses onto the unmarked Martinelli’s head but he flicks it wide.
10 mins: Zurich are getting into Arsenal’s faces to keep them in their own half and the Gunners are not moving the ball quick enough to break the press.
The Zurich goalkeeper has had a spare of gloves delivered to him … just in case.
8 mins: More idiocy from Arsenal as goalkeeper Turner dithers on the ball on the byline, eventually passing it straight to a Zurich player who whacks the ball off the post via a deflection. The subsequent corner is then flapped at by Turner who gives another one away. Not an encouraging start on his debut.
6 mins: Zurich break on Arsenal after one of the worst free-kicks in history. The Gunners look to play it short just inside the Zurich half but they give the ball away cheaply and are caught out. Luckily for Arsenal, they get numbers back in time to end the attack.
4 mins: Marquinhos cuts inside from the right and looks to pick out the run of Tierney into the box but there is just a little too much pace on the pass and the keeper collects.
Meanwhile in France …
(1/2) Unfortunately the game between ourselves and Nice has been delayed due to violent clashes between the fan groups in the stadium and on the stands. We are currently discussing the background, a UEFA security meeting is taking place. #OGCKOE
— 1. FC Cologne (@fckoeln_en) September 8, 2022
2 mins: There is plenty of flag waving in the stands and a flare has been let off but it’s all quite pedestrian on the pitch.
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Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
They might not be at home but the Zurich fans have made a lovely tifo behind one goal. The players are out on the pitch. Arsenal in a snazzy navy number.
The game this evening is taking place in St Gallen because there is some athletics going on in Zurich.
Arsenal have made seven changes from the weekend. Nketiah starts for Arsenal and Arteta has told him to do his talking on the pitch to show he can compete with Gabriel Jesus. It will be fun to see what Marquinhos offers, too.
And for something a bit different … the Guardian’s own Karen Carney on leading the government review into women’s football.
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Arteta is aiming high.
Teams
Zurich: Brecher, Kamberi, Kryeziu, Aliti, Boranijasevic, Dzemaili, Selnaes, Guerrero, Krasniqi, Aiyegun, Okita. Subs: Kostadinovic, Omeragic, Santini, Marchesano, Hornschuh, Conde, Avdijaj, Vyunnyk, Rohner, Hodza, Mets, De Nitti.
Arsenal: Turner, Tomiyasu, Holding, Gabriel, Marquinhos, Sambi Lokonga, Xhaka, Tierney, Vieira, Martinelli, Nketiah. Subs: Ramsdale, White, Saka, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Saliba, Zinchenko, Smith, Hein, Cirjan, Cozier-Duberry.
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden)
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Hello
Arsenal are back in European action. They missed out on continental football last season but Mikel Arteta led them to fifth place and qualification for Thursday night fun.
Arteta is aiming high and wants to win the Europa League, a bold claiming going into their group stage opener against Zurich. The Swiss champions have failed to win in their opening seven league games this season, so should be ripe for picking for an in-form Arsenal team.
They last won a European trophy when Alan Smith downed Parma in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup. Gabriel Jesus is their latest No 9 aiming to leading them to some glorious silverware, a striker that has brought a winning mentality from Manchester City and will be aiming to prove it in Europe.
It is at times like this we look at who we might know from the Zurich side. Let me start (and finish) with Blerim Džemaili who had a spell at Bolton in the late noughties. Admittedly, he did not play a single league game for the club but really enjoyed himself in Lancashire. He went onto to play for Napoli, so maybe Big Sam was wrong about the midfielder. At 36, he is still going strong.
Kick-off: 5.45pm BST.
