Arsenal moved past Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday evening in their second UEFA Europa League match of the season.

The Gunners had initially beaten FC Zurich 2-1 in Switzerland in their opening game of the group stage but were unable to play against PSV in their second game due to the funeral rites of Queen Elizabeth II.

However, after securing a 3-1 win against Spurs in their last Premier League game, the Gunners were ready to return to Europe with a clash against the Norwegian visitors.

Mikel Arteta had explained that the Europa League games were as important as the Premier League title they are chasing, having sat at the top of the Premier League table for weeks.

Arsenal took the lead through Eddie Nketiah in the 21st minute of the game before defender Rob Holding doubled the lead 7 minutes later.

Arsenal were unable to get a third until Portuguese midfielder Fabio Viera scored with six minutes left to play, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta despite his happiness with the victory, spoke about the inconsistency at which his team played the game.

“I’m really happy with the win, six points, and a clean sheet. But we lacked connection between the players; we lacked consistency and domination throughout the game. There were eight changes, and you could feel that the timing was missing. In the final third, we looked very dangerous. The goals we scored were good goals.” Arteta said.

Arsenal will return their focus to the Premier League when they face Liverpool on Super Sunday before returning to the UEFA Europa League to face Thursday’s opponents again in Norway.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, West Ham went away to face Anderlecht, and they got a 1-0 victory in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu