Arsenal talking points as Nketiah strikes again while Arteta takes a big risk

Arsenal rarely had to get out of second gear to register a 3-0 win over Bodo/Glimt in match-day two of the Europa League group stage.

Just three Gunners stars who started Saturday's North London derby day victory over Tottenham kept their place in the starting line-up as Mikel Arteta rung out the changes for this clash against the Norwegian outfit.

That didn't halt Arsenal's momentum however, as they went top of their group with another home win against Bodo. Fabio Vieira's thunderous strike that rattled off the crossbar set the tone, before Eddie Nketiah put the hosts in front with an impressive first-time finish.

Rob Holding doubled their advantage shortly after, as the defender expertly guided Vieira's pinpoint cross into the bottom corner of the net to give the Gunners a two-goal cushion.

The rest of the first-half played out without much of any note happening, with Bodo failing to test the Gunners second-choice shot-stopper Matt Turner between the sticks.

The American 'keeper was rarely called into action throughout his home debut, though he did make one superb stop to keep the scoreline at 2-0 just before the hour.

Arsenal kept their visitors at arms length before Vieira added another to ensure they took all three points yet again. Mirror Football has analysed five talking points from the comfortable Gunners victory.

Nketiah shines

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The England Under-21 record goal-scorer hasn't had much luck when it comes to game-time this season, but proved he was still as sharp as ever with his impressive performance on Thursday night.

Nketiah has seemingly drastically improved the physical aspects of his game, displaying a newfound strength on a number of occasions to shrug off oncoming challenges.

Throw into the mix that Nketiah's trademark 'fox in the box' style approach to forward play is still very much present and Arsenal have quite the deputy striker on their hands.

He got his customary Europa League goal inside the opening 25 minutes of the game. Kieran Tierney unleashed a thunderous strike that rattled off the frame of the goal before Nketiah responded fastest to calmly guide the ball home despite the speed it was travelling at him.

Arteta takes a risk ahead of Liverpool

With the stern test of Jurgen Klopp's side awaiting them on Sunday, most would have assumed that plenty of Arsenal's most important players would have been given a rest for a Europa League group stage clash at home.

Arteta was keen to make sure everyone was aware of his seriously Arsenal were taking their Norwegian visitors though and therefore gave all three of Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard minutes ahead of the weekend.

The consensus among Arsenal fans online was that the trio should have been wrapped up in cotton wool until the time comes for kick-off at the weekend, but all three were throwing themselves into tackles and fighting for every ball that came their way against Bodo.

Arsenal are all too familiar with seeing some of their stars on the treatment table ahead of huge matches, so it came as a bit of a shock to see Arteta risk all three of Jesus, Saka and Odegaard in a game that was effectively already won by the time they were introduced.

Fabio Vieira impresses

Despite missing the entirety of pre-season with an ankle injury, Arsenal fans can be incredibly pleased with what they have seen from Vieira so far.

The mercurial midfielder got himself an assist early on with his incredible cross that found the head of Holding, before Vieira got in on the act himself just before the full-time whistle.

He has Jesus to thank, after the Brazilian's sensational assist left Vieira with what was effectively a tap-in to put the gam beyond any doubt and seal the win for Arsenal.

While Odegaard remains the first-choice attacking midfielder in this Gunners side, Vieira's efforts are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore such is his technical quality.

Tomiyasu sends reminder of his quality

With Ben White's faultless performances at right-back in the Premier League this season, the quality of Takehiro Tomiyasu appears to have been forgotten about in some quarters.

Anyone watching the Gunners in action against Bodo would not have been able to ignore how dominant the Japan international was throughout in his preferred position of right-back.

Tomiyasu's ability to read the game is such a valuable asset to Arsenal and how they can hurt teams in transition.

There were a number of occasions were Arteta's side were able to turn defence into attack in one swift motion purely as a result of a perfectly-timed Tomiyasu interception.

The 23-year-old also displayed his versatility, switching to the left-back role once Tierney was taken off in place of White with 20 minutes to play.

No rest for Martinelli

At times during Arteta's reign, fans have questioned whether the Spaniard is particularly keen on Gabriel Martinelli due to easing him back into the fold after a lengthy injury lay-off.

Nowadays it is a completely contrasting story, with the young Brazilian one of the first names on the teamsheet. Many expected Martinelli to be handed a rest given the visit of Liverpool on Sunday, but he started from the first whistle yet again against Bodo.

This ensured one constant of Arsenal's season continued, as Martinelli has started every single game for the Gunners so far this term and had only missed 27 minutes of the campaign across all competions prior to kick-off.

Hearts were in mouths in the early stages of the second-half after Martinelli went down cluthing his foot following a late tackle from Alfons Sampsted, but thankfully he was able to get back to his feet soon after.

Arteta clearly wasn't willing to risk an injury to the Brazilian beyond that point, and hauled him off just before the 60th minute in place of Gabriel Jesus.

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