It was not pretty, and it was hardly a gripping encounter, but Arsenal got the job done. A 1-0 win in Norway is far better than the previous fourteen teams who have travelled to Bodo/Glimt in Europe, they all lost.
Arsenal top the group with the win and it means they can guarantee progression with a victory over PSV at the Emirates Stadium next Thursday. Although the Dutch side will produce a significantly harder challenge than last night’s opponents.
Mikel Arteta named a vastly changed side for the game against the Norwegian opposition. football.london takes a look at who the winners and losers from the encounter were.
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Winners
Matt Turner
My man of the match and much improved from what we have seen before. Even down to the goalkeeper's distribution, Turner delivered his best performances in an Arsenal shirt so far.
Despite only having to make the one save, with Bodo/Glimt incredibly wasteful with their chances, it was his reading of the game, command of his box and distribution which helped him to stand out from his teammates.
Especially toward the end of the game, Turner remained composed with some key passing under pressure. The timing of rushing out to close through balls and long passes was also encouraging.
Rob Holding
A quiet but strong performance for Rob Holding which I’d bet went under the radar for most. The experienced centre-half played to the left of William Saliba as his feature in European games continued.
He dealt with the ball well, bossed the penalty area when needed and stayed calm when under pressure. A solid display from a player who will rarely be called upon but remains a solid defensive option for Arteta when in need.
Mikel Arteta
Three points but potentially more importantly, no injuries. Mikel Arteta knows how key it was to come away from the infamous artificial pitch unscathed and despite all the deflections away from its reputation, I have little doubt he will be relieved.
Every player that featured against Liverpool bar Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes and Aaron Ramsdale played some part of this game, which might be surprising. But considering the reward for topping the group allows you to skip the round of 32 it is imperative we won the game.
Losers
Reiss Nelson
I really thought that this would, after Reiss Nelson’s cameo last week, would be the game where he would take his chance but… he simply didn’t. It was a very underwhelming and disappointing performance from Nelson who lacked the energy and fervour that he showed just a week ago.
Prior to that game last week, I had personally checked out the idea of giving minutes to Nelson. The reason behind that is he was, and most likely still is, heading toward the exit door and we would have been better off giving that time to a player who would be with us in the long term.
It is with regret that I return to that position and should we have secured the top spot by the last game against FC Zurich. I would therefore love to see youth players sprinkled through a side that has some fringe senior talent but without the presence of Nelson whose story is probably over.
Eddie Nketiah
It is these games where Eddie Nketiah needs to justify this mega contract that has been handed to him to secure his future. Similar to Nelson, there needs to be more desire from the striker to involve himself in attacks and there were moments where he gave up the ghost on some passes that when he looks back, he might regret not committing more.
Thankfully his goal record when starting games remains impressive but Gabriel Jesus should come back into the side, not only for the weekend but the matches against PSV too. These will be a test, a serious one too, and it is where more Premier League starters should be used to secure a strong victory and move onto the last 16 of the competition.
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