By Bulldog Drummond
FC Zurich have played nine matches in October and have finally they won a league match, beating FC Sion 1-0 away. And amazingly they have also won a Europa League game beating Bodo Glimt 2-1 at home. This was indeed something of an achievement and came after Franco Foda was sacked and Bo Henriksen took over.
Unfortunately for the new manager, he has not been able fully to appreciate the turnaround as he joined Zurich with a touchline ban. Thus Bo Henriksen, the ex-Kidderminster Harriers and Bristol Rovers player has been watching from the stand.
His preferred team style however is said to be one in which the opposition midfield and forward line are closely marked while the wingers are left alone, until they get the ball. That sounds like a system that could give the wingers of Arsenal quite an advantage.
However, unfortunately for FC Zurich, these two wins don’t actually make any difference to the club since they are still bottom of their domestic league…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Young Boys | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 32 | 9 | 23 | 31 |
| 2 | Servette | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 24 |
| 3 | Luzern | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 19 |
| 4 | Sion | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 19 |
| 5 | St Gallen | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 18 |
| 6 | Basel | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 17 |
| 7 | Grasshoppers | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 28 | -2 | 17 |
| 8 | Lugano | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 17 |
| 9 | Winterhur | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 27 | -16 | 15 |
| 10 | Zurich | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 24 | -15 | 9 |
And they are also still bottom of the Europa League group, again despite the win…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | PSV Eindhoven | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 10 |
| 3 | Bodo/Glimt | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 4 |
| 4 | FC Zurich | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 3 |
The new manager’s approach is one in which the opposition midfield and forward line are closely marked while the opposition wingers are left alone, until they get the ball. That sounds like a system that could give the wingers of Arsenal quite an advantage.
But whatever the tactical changes have been the result is that Zurich are in a better position than they were, with two wins in the last two games, following a run of four defeats and four draws in the last eight games in all competitions.
As for the Europa League, and as we have noted before, being top of the league matters as it means the group winner misses out on the first knock our round in which the runners’ up from the Europa League group meet the third-placed teams from one of the Champions League groups. These knock out games are scheduled on 16 and 23 February with the Europa team playing at home in the second leg.
So, A win for Arsenal will put them through as group winners, thus avoiding the new knock out round, while anything less will leave them qualified but their position will depend on what PSV do against Bodo/Glimt.
After this match Arsenal have three more games until the enforced break due to the decampment of football to the profoundly unsavory Qatar. Those games are Chelsea away on Sunday, Brighton at home in the league cup on Wednesday, and Wolverhampton Wanderers away on Saturday 12th.
Beyond that there is nothing (as Ovid said in ‘The Poems of Exile’), at least until a home game against West Ham on Boxing Day. Although Christmas itself can be quite fun and we’ll be back to game previews by then. (I think this might be the first time Ovid has been quoted in an Arsenal preview).
But back to our next game… a win is essential. Anything less would be, if not a disaster, at least rather annoying.
