With a fine 3-0 home victory on Thursday night, the Premier League leaders took over the top spot in UEFA Europa League Group A. The goals came from Eddie Nketiah, Rob Holding, and Fabio Vieira.
Arsenal scored three goals in a game for the third straight game thanks to Jesus, who came off the bench to replace fellow countryman Gabriel Martinelli in the 58th minute. Jesus dazzled the Bodo/Glimt defense and set up Vieira in the 84th minute.
After the game, Arteta praised the efforts of the former Manchester City player and said that his teammates could take inspiration from him.
Arteta told Sky Sports after the game, “I love his mentality; regardless of how long he plays, where he plays, or in which position he plays, he always gives absolutely everything.
“You can see it when he enters the field of play; even with his energy, he changes the team. He made a fantastic effort today to score the third goal.
“When you consider that he has won everything (with Manchester City) over the past five years, you can only speculate as to what the rest of the team must accomplish.
He’s always in the right place, so follow him.
Even though Arsenal won easily in the Europa League, Arteta insisted that the team still committed “too many” mistakes.
“In general, well, we lacked a little bit of connection between the players, too many simple things, too many giveaways, and we weren’t that consistent and dominant throughout the game,” the team’s captain said.
The understanding of what to do and when to do it is obviously affected by the eight changes and the fact that many of the players haven’t played for very long. You can tell when the timing is off sometimes.
But there are no issues in terms of attitude or anything else.
Following this Sunday’s match against struggling Liverpool in the Premier League, Arsenal will return to Norway for a rematch against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday.
