Arsenal will be looking to make it three wins out of three in the Europa League tonight when they travel to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt.
A statement victory saw Arsenal beat Liverpool 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday, keeping the Gunners at the top of the league and proving Mikel Arteta's side are genuine title contenders. And now, the Gunners have the chance to take a big leap towards the knockout stages of the Europa League when they face Bodo/Glimt.
A straightforward 3-0 win last week saw Arsenal defeat the Norwegian side in the reverse fixture, with a much-changed Gunners XI earning the three points. A win for Arsenal on Thursday will see Arteta's side go five points ahead of Bodo/Glimt in third place with a game in hand, making it seem almost impossible for the Gunners to not advance to the next round of the competition.
READ MORE: Arsenal injury news and return dates ahead of Europa League clash: Jesus, Smith Rowe, Zinchenko
Emile Smith-Rowe and Mohamed Elneny are both guaranteed to be absent tonight, whilst Oleksandr Zinchenko joins them on the injury list with a muscle problem. Gabriel Jesus wasn't spotted in training ahead of the clash in Norway, but football.london understands the Brazilian is simply being rested.
So, what could the score be in Arsenal's second clash with Bodo/Glimt? We simulated the game to find out.
Bodo/Glimt vs Arsenal simulated
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the Norwegian side could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Haikin; Sampsted, Hoibraten, Lode, Wembangomo; Vetlesen, Berg, Saltnes; Mvuka, Salvesen, Pellegrino.
We predict that Arsenal could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Turner; Cedric, Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Tierney; Viera, Lokonga, Odegaard; Marquinhos, Nketiah, Nelson.
The Gunners got off to a bright start in Norway, with Marquinhos and Reiss Nelson both impressing down either flank. After a 20-minute period of domination, Arsenal took the lead through a fantastic Nelson solo goal.
Kieran Tierney sent a through ball down the left wing for Nelson to chase, and when the winger picked up possession, he charged at the home side's defence. As he approached the box, Nelson weaved his way around the last man before opening up a sight of goal, and his strike was too powerful for the 'keeper, finding the top corner.
A goal behind, Bodo/Glimt had it all to do, but the task at hand become much harder when Joel Mvuka was sent off just before the break for a late challenge on Kieran Tierney. Despite going down to 10 men, the hosts remained in the game, and they levelled the contest with 11 minutes to go with a goal against the run of play.
Arsenal had controlled the game, but a counterattack allowed Bodo/Glimt to catch out the Gunners' defence. A long ball forward to Lars-Jorgen Salvesen saw substitute Rob Holding drawn out of defence, but the defender lost the battle with the striker, leaving him out of position.
Salvesen played the ball out wide and surged into the box to meet the cross, volleying his effort through the legs of Matt Turner and making it 1-1. Arteta's side didn't back down for the final 10 minutes as they searched for a winner, and Martin Odegaard found it 88 minutes in with a cool finish.
Eddie Nketiah received the ball with his back to goal and spotted Odegaard bursting into the box behind him, playing the Norwegian through on goal with a backheel pass. Odegaard calmly curled an effort into the far corner with the outside of his foot to secure the win for Arsenal.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: Bodo/Glimt 1-2 Arsenal
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that the Gunners could face the toughest challenge of their Europa League campaign so far tonight, edging past Bodo/Glimt with a narrow victory. Despite going down to 10 men, the Norwegian side pushed Arsenal to the final few minutes, with tonight's clash not going to be an easy game for Arteta's side.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
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