As an odd, undesired footnote, Arsenal’s comeback to Europe went off without a hitch in a game that will go down in history. A minute’s silence could not have been held before too many previous second halves, but before the restart, both teams’ players locked arms and stood around the center circle to remember the Queen, whose death had been announced at the end of the first session. A segment of the away crowd had already sang the national song, and the stadium staff had moved promptly to put an image of the monarch on the big screens at both ends, accompanied by words of grief.
Mikel Arteta will be happy with how Arsenal managed their task against a weak FC Zürich team and incredibly excited by Marquinhos’ sensational debut. The 19-year-old Brazilian winger opened the scoring for his team, and after MirlindKryeziu tied the score with a penalty, he set up Eddie Nketiah for the game-winning goal. Arsenal has grabbed early control of Group A and did not feel the consequences of the seven alterations very much. It was an accomplishment for Marquinhos to score the opening goal after Arsenal had refused to loan him out after he joined from So Paulo. He was upset after winning. Fábio Vieira, who was making his debut, had set Nketiah free down the left, but for Marquinhos to have a good chance, the delivery had to be spot-on.
Marquinhos had already demonstrated an end product, cutting onto his left foot and finding Gabriel Martinelli four minutes earlier. The resulting header was erroneous, but Zürich ignored the warning. They found any possession a luxury after conceding; Arsenal was dominant, and Vieira, manipulating the strings, lobbed onto the roof of the net. Granit Xhaka’s low shot was tipped wide by Yanick Brecher, who was booed for his Basel roots. The Swiss champions, who were playing 40 miles away owing to a conflict with a Diamond League athletics competition, were vociferously supported but faced only minor opposition.
Even though they started to occasionally threaten before the break, with Kieran Tierney blocking Ole Selnaes’ shot, it was still unexpected when they equalized. They can applaud Nketiah for a striker’s challenge on FidanAliti following incomplete corner clearance. It was a hasty tackle that merited a penalty. Turner had been beaten by Kryeziu, another Kosovan defender who had been fouled. During the minute of reflection, the Arsenal fans voiced their displeasure with the hum in the home end. They then watched as their team regained the upper hand. Martinelli saw a shot blocked by Kryeziu before Tierney and Nketiah came within striking distance.