Arsenal vs. Bodo/Glimt result, highlights & analysis as Gunners go top of Europa League group

Ben Miller

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Arsenal vs. Bodo/Glimt result, highlights & analysis as Gunners go top of Europa League group image

Arsenal moved two points clear at the top of Europa League Group A and stretched their run of home wins to eight competitive matches with an entertaining 3-0 win over Bodo/Glimt.

Striker Eddie Nketiah struck his second goal of the European campaign from close range after 23 minutes and Rob Holding headed the second from the excellent Fabio Vieira's cross four minutes later.

Vieira hammered in a late third following a dazzling run by substitute Gabriel Jesus as Arsenal ended their three-game wait for a home win in Europe — their worst in almost 20 years — and brought the Norwegian side's unbeaten start to their Europa League to a comprehensive halt.

The Premier League leaders have now won four successive games in all competitions ahead of the visit of Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium in the English top flight on Sunday.

Arsenal vs. Bodo/Glimt result and analysis

In front of their first capacity home crowd since 2020 in European competition, Arsenal were serene for much of the first period and could have scored more than the two goals in four minutes they managed.

Vieira was at the centre of much of their best work, repeatedly providing inviting crosses and creating chances, as well as going close himself when he showed classy technique to smack a shot against the crossbar early on.

Nketiah has had to take a step back following the seismic impact of Jesus at the club but the forward's energy and intensity caught the eye and it was no surprise when he pounced to put his side ahead.

Vieira's superb cross swiftly gave Holding the chance to head the second, at which point Bodo/Glimt's noisy band of fans in yellow, frequently leaping in unison in one section of the stadium, must have feared a heavy defeat.

Granit Xhaka almost scored immediately after half-time but highly-rated visiting manager Kjetil Knutsen's advice at the interval clearly gave his players much-needed momentum.

Patrik Berg ran the length of the pitch to set up a chance and Ulrik Saltnes twice shot high and wide as the team who twice beat Europa Conference League champions Roma last season tried to fashion a reply.

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta made eight changes to his starting lineup, with only Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Xhaka remaining from the 3-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday.

Arteta sent on three of his big-hitters in Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Jesus with 30 minutes remaining, resulting in a stemming of Bodo/Glimt's brief resurgence and a third goal to put the victory beyond doubt late on. 

Arsenal vs. Liverpool preview

Arsenal pushed Liverpool but were outclassed in the second half as their opponents scored twice without reply on their last visit to the Emirates Stadium, continuing their ultra-tight contest for the title with Manchester City last season.

How times have changed. Former City forward Jesus will be relishing the chance to help his new side end their eight-match winless run in all competitions against the Reds and stay ahead of the reigning champions City in the process.

Arteta has used the Europa League to experiment with some of his reserve players so far this season and their accomplished performance against limited opponents provided a demonstration of Arsenal's enhanced squad depth.

Beating Norway's second-best club side is no cause to feel complacent, but Arsenal continued where they left off in terms of the assuredness and confidence they exuded in their emphatic home win over Spurs on Saturday.

That had been billed as Arsenal's sternest test of the season, and a Liverpool side looking to stay within vaguely feasible distance of the top of the table could yet prove their toughest challenge before the break for the World Cup in mid-November.

"We had spells when we were too rushed and we didn’t win enough duels," Arteta said of his second string’s Europa League display on Thursday. "We didn’t manage the ball well enough when we won it back, so it became a really open game with a lot of transitions and when you have the result in your hand, you need to manage the game much better.

"We didn’t put 10 or 15 passes together enough times in the game to try to get the ball more in the final third.

"We were really effective in the final third and we looked a threat, but in terms of composure and sometimes the timing between the units, because they haven’t played together much, some levels were lacking a little bit. In football, timing is everything."

The Sporting News followed the match live and provided live score updates and commentary.

MORE: Arsenal Europa League group draw 2022/23: Fixtures, schedule, history and odds to advance

Arsenal vs. Bodo/Glimt live score

  1H 2H Final
Arsenal  2 1 3
Bodo/Glimt 0 0 0

Goals:

ARSENAL – Nketiah 23

ARSENAL – Holding 27

ARSENAL – Jesus 84

Arsenal vs. Bodo/Glimt live updates, highlights from Europa League

Full-time: Arsenal 3-0 Bodo Glimt

Thanks for following our coverage of a convincing win for Arsenal that sends them top of Europa League Group A! You can read our report and analysis at the top of this page shortly.

87 mins: Arsenal 3-0 Bodo Glimt

Glimt must have dreaded Jesus coming on – and that goal proved they were right to.

The Arsenal top scorer surged past Sampsted on the left, gave Moe the same treatment in a smidgeon of space and cut a pass back to Vieira, who thumped his finish into the net.

Arsenal are going top of Group A!

84 mins: GOAL – Arsenal 3-0 Bodo Glimt (Fabio Vieira)

Vieira finally gets his goal – but this is all down to substitute Jesus!

82 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Nketiah makes way for Reiss Nelson, the winger returning from a thigh injury to a suitably warm reception.

79 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Good chance for Nketiah! Odegaard measures a pass beyond the Glimt defence and on to the run of the striker, whose finish lacks composure, sailing over the target.

74 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Glimt make three changes either side of going close: Gabriel thwarts an Espejord shot, then Saltnes shoots over again, this time from inside the penalty area.

The flag is raised. The Eliteserien side have under 20 minutes in which to score at least twice.

70 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Ben White comes on for Tierney. The left-back was involved in several of Arsenal's meaningful attacks tonight. A shift well done.

65 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

So far, those changes have only had the effect of slowing the game down and stemming Bodo/Glimt's attacks. Arteta will probably settle for that.

62 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Never one to ease his standards, the typically stern-looking Arteta is clearly hoping Arsenal will extend their lead now that Jesus and Saka, in particular, are involved.

60 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Arteta has seen enough of Glimt's increasing dominance, which isn't something you'd have expected to say at half-time.

Heavy-hitters Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus replace Xhaka, Martinelli and Marquinhos. Fresh impetus and a cavalry charge of class.

58 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Glimt come as close as they have all night! Pellegrino shows speed of thought and feet to dig out a shot from a bustling penalty area.

Turner would have seen it late and does well to plunge to his right and save.

55 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

More encouraging signs for Glimt. Saltnes can't find his range from distance, but at least they're giving Turner something to do and think about.

53 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Berg runs almost the length of the pitch, then supplies Espejord to his right, whose diagonal cross narrowly evades Espejord and rolls behind.

Glimt are compelled by the scoreline to throw everything at this, as they are right now.

51 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Glimt have a go against, Pellegrino feeding Vetlesen just outside the penalty area, who shoots straight at Turner.

49 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Here's a look at the second goal. It's not often Holding gets on the scoresheet – but it would be rude not to with a cross like that from Vieira.

47 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

'Glimt' translates as 'lightning' in English but that is not a word that could have been used to describe Mugisha here.

Martinelli races past the forward and sends in a cross that is cleared as far as Xhaka, whose shot from just outside the area is palmed away by Haikin.

46 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Glimt restart the action. Can they reward that army of travelling fans?

Half-time: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

That half had the feel of a training session for Arsenal, who dominated from the off and should have had more than the two in six minutes they scored through Nketiah's close-range finish and Holding's header.

Should they see this out - which you imagine they will and then some, unless Glimt re-emerge transformed - the Gunners are heading two points top of PSV and the Norwegian side at the top of Group A.

43 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

You'll never guess which two players might feel a little unlucky not to have scored here. Nketiah can't reach Xhaka's cross, which falls to Vieira on the edge of the penalty area.

Vieira sets himself, then swings a shot narrowly wide. That's 12 attempts now for Arsenal!

41 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Here's a look at Nketiah's goal (UK viewers only).

40 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Vieira lifts a corner towards Nketiah, who heads wide at the far post. Arsenal could have had a hatful here, and if the prospect needs a confidence booster, tonight could be it.

39 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Glimt have had a shot! Forward Pellegrino swerves an effort wide from distance. That will please their endearingly passionate fans.

37 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

It's becoming tricky to keep up with the number of chances Arsenal are having. Nketiah and Martinelli break clear and the striker shows a lack of ruthlessness, attempting to feed the Brazilian when he should have shot.

Glimt just about clear, having also watched a Tierney attempt from the edge of the penalty area clear the target following good work by Xhaka shortly before that attack.

35 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

At the risk of stating the abundantly obvious, Glimt will surely feel this contest is out of sight if they concede again before the break.

Arsenal have had all nine shots so far and mounted 22 of the 26 attacks between the teams.

34 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Good save! Wembangomo is booked for handball just outside the penalty area. Xhaka takes aim with a vicious shot from the right of centre, which Haikin pushes over the crossbar.

31 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Arsenal will go top of the group if they win tonight. At this rate, their goal difference will be vastly superior to their rivals as well.

29 mins: Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt

Vieira has been a consistent threat tonight, almost scoring twice. This time he locates Holding with a searching ball from the left, who leaps to power a header beyond Haikin.

Arsenal are firmly on course for an eighth successive home win!

27 mins: GOAL – Arsenal 2-0 Bodo Glimt (Rob Holding)

Now it is two!

27 mins: Arsenal 1-0 Bodo Glimt

Almost a second! Vieira wants in on the act now after hitting the crossbar earlier, entering the penalty area on the right and seeing his effort turned behind by Haikin!

Arsenal are rampant. Glimt are on the ropes.

24 mins: Arsenal 1-0 Bodo Glimt

Tierney profited down the left again for that opener, this time deciding to go for goal himself as he drilled a low shot past Haikin and back off a post.

Nketiah was in the right place to apply the finish and put Arsenal ahead!

23 mins: GOAL — Arsenal 1-0 Bodo Glimt (Eddie Nketiah)

Arsenal's dominance is rewarded!

20 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: It hasn't exactly been a thriller for the home fans - there's a little of the feel of the experimental teams Arsenal field in the domestic league cup - but they've had 60% of possession and all three shots, establishing almost complete control so far.

18 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Managerial attire report: Glimt's Kjetil Knutsen goes for a raincoat on the touchline. Sensible. Arsenal, meanwhile, are continuing to press from both flanks.

16 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Xhaka has been in excellent form recently. He swings a lovely delivery across the face of goal from the left, which no-one is there to meet.

The midfielder grits his teeth.

14 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Scenes in the away end, where Glimt's fans are leaping up and down in unison to create a wave of yellow.

12 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Glimt haven't offered much so far but they try to fashion an attack deep in Arsenal territory down the left, perhaps stung by that near-miss from Vieira.

It comes to nothing but the visitors' noisy fans will be pleased to see them have a spell of possession and show some intent after almost falling behind so early.

9 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Vieira hits the crossbar following an excellent piece of technique from the midfield prodigy!

Tierney rifles in a cross from deep inside Glimt territory on the left. Nketiah takes a touch to send the ball spinning up in the air, and Vieira reacts by controlling it on his chest and thumping a strike off the bar and behind!

Haikin's goal lived a charmed life there. The goalkeeper must be highly relieved.

7 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Vieira needs treatment after a robust challenge on the edge of the Glimt penalty area, although it looked 50/50.

He appeared to have his foot accidentally trodden on, returning to his feet after some attention. Arteta offers instructions to Tomiyasu.

5 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Here's how the teams looked as they emerged. Tomiyasu just won a free-kick for Arsenal in a useful position on the right, and Arsenal sent the ball harmlessly behind from the subsequent attack.

4 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Close! Nketiah looks up from outside the penalty area on the left and swings a powerful, curling shot narrowly wide of the far post!

Haikin was at full stretch for that one, which would have been a spectacular opener had it crept in.

3 mins: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Arsenal have already caused concern inside the Bodo Glimt penalty area with attacks from both flanks, although their opponents have fealt with the danger.

Marquinhos and Martinelli look lively, as you'd expect. Arteta has been off his seat to applaud his players and offer encouragement.

1 min: Arsenal 0-0 Bodo Glimt: Arsenal entered a huddle shortly before kickoff. The teams then gathered around the centre circle for a minute's silence in memory of the victims of the tragic events at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Indonesia.

Now the Gunners start proceedings, attacking from left to right in the first half.

15 mins from kickoff: Gabriel, Xhaka and Martinelli are the only remaining starters from Arsenal's win over Tottenham on Saturday, while Glimt reward Hugo Vetlesen for his goalscoring appearance from the bench against Lillestrom by starting him on the right of midfield.

Vetlesen takes the place of Albert Gronbaek in one of two changes for the visitors. The other switch sees Marius Lode start in place of Marius Hoibraten at the back.

30 mins from kickoff: Don't forget to give Sporting News Football Club, our dedicated football Twitter account, a follow during tonight's Europa League action and beyond.

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45 mins from kickoff: Glimt have had something of a character-building start to their matchnight: after their team bus broke down on the way to the stadium, a shortage of mini buses meant some of their staff had to walk to the stadium. A novel way of arriving!

60 mins from kickoff: Here's how Glimt start as they aim to end Arsenal's seven-match winning run at home in all competitions!

70 mins from kickoff: Team news! Arsenal make numerous changes from that excellent win over Spurs, as expected. Eddie Nketiah starts in attack.

75 mins from kickoff: Bodo are facing English opposition for the first time. Their record against British teams is encouraging, knocking Celtic out of last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League playoff round and beating Linfield in this season’s UEFA Champions League qualifying.

They beat Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of their Champions League playoff but missed out on making the group stage with defeat in Croatia.

90 mins from kickoff: "This lovely lot are ready for battle," say Glimt, sharing photos of their fans enjoying themselves in London.

Their Arsenal counterparts will be hoping there's Norway through their defence when the Europa Conference League surprise package of last season go on the attack.

105 mins from kickoff: Currently second in the Norwegian top flight, Bodo/Glimt have won one of their last 13 away matches in Europe, drawing seven of those games.

That win was a 3-1 victory at Celtic in February. Their only clean sheet on that run was a goalless draw at CSKA Sofia last season.

120 mins from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ coverage of a meeting between two sides who are undefeated in the Europa League so far this season.

Both of these teams share a commonality apart from their unbeaten records in the competition, Arsenal having won 2-1 at Zurich while Bodo/Glimt beat the same opponents by the same score at home.

In the meantime, Arsenal had their game postponed at home to PSV, against whom Bodo secured a 1-1 draw away.

Arsenal are huge favourites to win tonight but will be wary of Bodo’s reputation after the Norwegian Eliteserien side beat eventual champions Roma twice in the Europa Conference League last season, drawing and losing their other matches against Jose Mourinho’s side.

Will a Gunners team that is likely to be largely second-string continue the confident form Mikel Arteta’s men showed in their storming 3-1 win at home to Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday? We’ll find out in around two hours’ time…

Why does Bodo/Glimt have a slash in its name?

When the club was originally founded in 1916, it was known as Fotballklubben Glimt – 'football club' followed by the Norwegian word for lightning.

It emerged that an older club from the Trondelag region of Norway had the same name, so Glimt changed their name to Fotballklubben Bodo/Glimt in 1948.

The two words in the name were originally separated by a hyphen but that changed during the 1980s to avoid confusion on betting coupons and results pages of newspapers.

The unusual name regularly attracts intrigue from fans and pundits, although there are other examples of clubs in northern Europe using slashes in their team names.

Arsenal vs. Bodo/Glimt predicted lineups

Arsenal made eight changes to the team that beat Tottenham 3-0 in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium the previous Saturday.

Defender Gabriel, midfielder Xhaka and attacker Gabriel Martinelli were the only players remaining in the starting line-up from that derby win.

Arsenal lineup (4-3-3): Turner (GK) — Tomiyasu, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney — Vieira, Lokonga, Xhaka — Marquinhos, Nketiah, Martinelli

Bodo Glimt made two changes to the starting side that won 4-1 at Lillestrom in their preceding Eliteserien match.

Marius Lode replaced Marius Hoibraten in defence and Hugo Vetlesen came in for Albert Gronbaek on the right wing.

Bodo/Glimt lineup (4-3-2-1): Haikin (GK) – Sampsted, Lode, Moe, Wembangomo – Vetlesen, Berg, Saltnes – Mvuka, Pellegrino – Espejord

How to watch Arsenal vs. Bodo/Glimt

  UK USA Canada Australia
Date October 6 October 6 October 6 October 7
Time 20:00 BST 15:00 ET 15:00 ET 06:00 AET
TV channel BT Sport 2, BT Sport Ultimate Unimas, TUDN - -
Streaming BT Sport Paramount+, ViX+, fuboTV DAZN Stan Sport

UK: BT Sport carries exclusive coverage of the Europa League.

US: Paramount+ and ViX+ will stream the match in English. Spanish-language coverage of the Europa League is available on fuboTV, which also offers a free trial to new subscribers, while Unimas and TUDN will show the match on TV.

Canada: Every Europa League game streams live on DAZN.

Australia: Every Europa League game streams live on Stan Sport.

Ben Miller

Ben Miller Photo

Ben Miller has been writing about sport for 25 years, following all levels of football as well as boxing, MMA, athletics and tennis. He’s seen five promotions, three relegations, one World Cup winner and home games in at least three different stadiums as a result of his lifelong devotion to Brighton & Hove Albion. His main aim each week is to cover at least one game or event that does not require a last-minute rewrite.