Arsenal and Mikel Arteta open their Europa League account with an away trip to FC Zurich. There has already been some upheaval regarding fixture from both a team news perspective and with its location.
Arsenal saw Emile Smith-Rowe pull up in the warm-down at Old Trafford, potentially adding him to the lengthening list of injuries. Plus, the club will now play the fixture in St Gallen instead, with Zurich unable to play the match in their home stadium.
Zurich are the Swiss champions but an awful start to the season sees them sit second-bottom of the table. Just two draws from seven games are the only points Franco Foda’s side have on the board.
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football.london wanted to find out more about Arsenal’s opponents and have spoken with Switzerland Co-Head Researcher for Football Manager and football scout Oliver Zesiger. Zesiger has vast experience of working in Swiss football and has some hard truths regarding Zurich’s early season demise as well as plenty of optimism for Arteta.
Zurich find themselves second-bottom after 7 games, what on Earth has happened?
“Let me go back to last season. Zurich were crowned champions and they sensationally overperformed. If you check out the xG from last season, then you’ll see how (2.17 goals per 90 compared to 1.79xG per 90).
“They were just in a flow, and their coach was André Breitenreiter, whose now at Hoffenheim who found the right mixture. He took players who were not good enough, implemented a system around them and hit the jackpot.
“As soon as the departure of André Breitenreiter was announced there was a huge mountain to climb for the whole of the club. Not just for the new manager, because the new manager had the burden of the last season, the whole team had the burden of the last season on their shoulders and they’re currently crumbling under it.
“It doesn’t help that Franco Foda who came in was highly criticised in Austria for his defensive playing style. An attractive playing style and obviously as Swiss and Austrians speak German, to a degree, those voices were very loud in Switzerland.
“Foda hasn’t really found the right formation for the team. Last season they played in a 3-1-4-1-1 formation. This was very good because both full-backs strengths are in attack rather than defence, so they had three men to cover behind them which is always good.
“He has tried a back four, but it hasn’t worked. He has tried a five in defence formation, has not worked very well either. Now you can see the players are struggling mentally to cope with the situation.
“They lost to Basel the Sunday before last, and the previous Sunday, they lost to Lugano in the last minute of the game, so this really points to a mental block for me.
“They’ve also had some departures. Assan Ceesay went to Lecce in Serie A. He was a key player who Breitenreiter tailored his system around.
“They also lost Ousmane Doumbia to Lugano, Doumbia was the heart of this team. He was the one who intercepted many balls and played them into the feet of Ceesay.
“Another point is they had trouble with Wilfried Gnonto, who is now at Leeds [United]. He only had one year left of a contract, they didn’t let him go to the under-19s Euros because he was already a full international for Italy, and they didn’t want to risk injury. So, he finally left on the final day of the English transfer window.
“And another point is Becir Omeragic, a Swiss national team player. Also, has one year left on his contract, they’re trying to negotiate a new contract with him.
“He hasn’t played that often this season. Injuries and, as I say, contract negotiations are still going on. You see, there’s a lot of things coming together for Zurich, but the main thing is there was no winning for the new coach because the old coach was as close to perfect as you can imagine.
Do Zurich have any players Arsenal should be concerned by?
“Arsenal should not be scared of any FC Zurich player. They have some good players; I personally like Cheick Conde. Blerim Dzemaili is a recognised player, he played for Galatasaray, he was at Napoli and Bologna.
“The one player I would say is in-form right now is Fabian Rohner. A right-wing back or a right-winger. All the other players are not in form.
“I would also say Antonio Machesano is a good player, but he is very small, and physically he’s not good enough for international level, and he might be exposed. Usually, the two wing backs bombing forwards are good as well, but their out of form, and their body language in the last game was not great.
“As an addition, Donis Avdijaj is a good player. They only signed him a month ago, and he is already their best player.”
Where can Arsenal exploit this Zurich side?
“Arsenal can exploit both wing backs defensively, they’re not great. As I say, the whole team has a mental blockade. They’re facing a huge test in Arsenal, an in-form Arsenal is even worse. They lack the speed up front that they had last season. And it is generally not a cohesive unit. It starts with the coach and ends with the players. There’s not one real weakness Arsenal could exploit, but there are many points.
“The gaps between the wing-backs and the centre-backs, they’re open quite a lot. They’re a fragile team, so as soon as you score, you should be flying.”
If you could give Mikel Arteta any advice ahead of this game, what would it be?
“Score early, if you go into the break with one or two goals, you’ll win this game. They don’t currently have the mentality to come back in those games.
“Obviously, such games are always made for the minnow club to gain some mental strength. Maybe getting a respectable result out of it, but I don’t see it, I really don’t see it.
“Just keep the ball, pay attention to the counterattacks, although they’re not as dangerous as they were last season. Try to keep the ball, circulate the ball, and wait for your chance; you will get it.
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