Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen has claimed Arsenal's tactical approach is "not very complicated" as he prepares to lead his team out at the Emirates Stadium.
The Norwegian club, who won their national title in 2021 and sit second in this season's table, are playing in the Europa League after losing a Champions League play-off against Dinamo Zagreb. They have taken four points from their first two matches in the competition, and can move a step closer to the knockout rounds if they're able to beat the Gunners on Thursday.
Arsenal have played a game less than their opponents, beating FC Zurich but seeing their meeting with PSV Eindhoven postponed until October 20. Knutsen has watched back Arsenal's game in Switzerland - with his own team also beating the Swiss side when they met in Norway - and hinted that he has figured out what makes the London club tick.
"I started watching Arsenal against Zurich to analyse Zurich, but my concentration and my gaze went towards Arsenal because I was thinking, 'What the hell are they actually doing?!' Knutsen said, as translated by Sport Witness. Arsenal went ahead in their opening group game through summer signing Marquinhos, and Eddie Nketiah scored a second-half winner after Zurich briefly drew themselves level in St Gallen.
"There are a lot of rotations, so you have to pick them apart and see where are the players who are fairly stable in their role and where are the players who rotate a lot. It’s just extremely high-level, high-intensity football with extremely high-level individual qualities."
Bodo/Glimt played in the Europa Conference League last season, reaching the quarter-finals. Their campaign included a 6-1 group stage victory over Roma, but the eventual champions got their revenge with a knockout victory.
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Despite the praise for Arsenal's approach, Knutsen appears to remain confident, while insisting his team would take a different approach to that employed by Tottenham in Saturday's north London derby. "When you get to see it over time, it’s not very complicated," he continued.
"They [Arsenal] have a number of rotations with the left-back and central midfielder, who has a lot of freedom, but it’s a lot less on their right side. But the way we defend, it doesn’t matter too much [which opposition] players run where because we are very zone-orientated in the way we defend.
"If we played a man-to-man system we would have a huge challenge to face, but we are at the other end of the scale [in terms of approach] so that’s probably the least of my worries. They attack with a lot of people, they’re patient and then suddenly they have that burst in the final third.
"But they also leave space in behind them which we will have to exploit. We need to be aggressive in the low block, high intensity in the high press, and we will have to control the ball. Tottenham only defended, Zurich only defended – if you do that you won’t stand a chance against them."
