Bodo/Glimt vs Arsenal

Connoisseurs of action-packed football will be looking forward to Arsenal’s Europa League road trip to Aspmyra Stadion to take on Norwegian powerhouse Bodo/Glimt.

Despite finding themselves 1-0 down at halftime, Bodo/Glimt notched up four unanswered second-half goals en route to dismantling fellow Eliteserien rivals Sandefjord 4-1 at the weekend. That was a perfect response to last week’s morale-crushing 3-0 defeat at Arsenal that threw Bodo/Glimt’s hopes of making out of the Europa League group stages for the first time. Level on points with third-placed PSV Eindhoven (4 – W1, D1, L1) and two adrift of Arsenal, who also have a game in hand, Kjetil Knutsen’s men will rely on their stellar home European form to bolster their top-two bid. Indeed, the defending Norwegian champions have won their last 14 European fixtures at Aspmyra Stadion via an aggregate score of 42-5, including a 2-1 triumph over Zurich on matchday two.

Bodo/Glimt’s sensational European record in Norway shouldn’t dampen the enthusiasm in the Arsenal camp following the Londoners’ enthralling 3-2 home win over last season’s Premier League runners-up Liverpool at the weekend. In addition to making it ten victories out of 11 competitive matches this season (L1), the ‘Gunners’ have retained the top spot in England’s top flight. Things are looking equally promising in Europe, where they’ve won both opening Europa League fixtures to seize control of Group A. Mikel Arteta’s team will feel optimistic about extending their purple patch of form after going unbeaten in all three previous European visits to Norway (W2, D1). On top of that, the visitors have been unbeaten in 13 of their last 14 Europa League outings on hostile turf (W10, D2), highlighting their skyrocketing confidence.