Arsenal at Bodø/Glimt match thread: another one

Arsenal travel north of the Arctic Circle for the first time in club history to take on Bodø/Glimt in the Europa League this evening. The Gunners sit top of the group, two points ahead of both PSV and Bodø. They control their own fate to win the group, but with two matches against PSV still to come, Group A is still up for grabs.

A win this evening basically assures Arsenal will advance from the group. It wouldn’t clinch a trip to the knockout stages, but it would mean the Gunners would need just one point from three matches to finish in second. But Arsenal have their sights set on winning the group and avoiding the extra play-in tie against a team dropping down from the Champions League. With yesterday’s CL results, there are going to be some good teams coming into the Europa League, and Mikel Arteta would just as soon face them later in the competition (or not at all if other clubs help out).

I really don’t want to end up eating these words, but Arsenal should win comfortably this evening. The Gunners are orders of magnitude better than Bodø, as seen in the 3-0 at the Emirates last week. Arsenal didn’t get out of second gear (if they even got into it to begin with) and won with ease. It’s tougher playing away from home, and both the cold and artificial pitch might affect things a bit, but that shouldn’t matter. Arsenal should be too much for Bodø to handle. But that’s why they play the games!

The Gunners will be without Gabriel Jesus for today’s contest. Mikel Arteta described it as “all he’s been through” in the past few weeks, but you have to wonder whether he sustained a head injury from Kostas Tsimikas’ elbow over the weekend. And then you have to question whether the proper protocols were followed in allowing him to remain on the pitch afterwards. Reports say Gabriel Jesus cleared concussion protocol with the trainer and was checked by a doctor the next day, but now he’s not traveled. Something feels off. Arsenal will also be without Emile Smith Rowe and Mohamed Elneny, who are both out long-term.

Arsenal - Turner, White, Holding, Saliba, Tierney, Lokonga, Ødegaard, Saka, Vieira, Nelson, Nketiah

Bodø - Haikin, Wembangomo, Hoibraten, Lode, Sampsted, Saltnes, Berg, Vetlesen, Pellegrino, Solbakken, Espejord

WHAT: Arsenal at Bodø/Glimt
WHERE: Aspmyra Stadion, Bodø, Norway
WHEN: Thursday, October 13th, 9:45 am PT | 12:45 pm ET | 7:45 pm BT
US TV: Streaming on Paramount+ and fuboTV.

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