Arsenal 1-0 FC Zürich—meh...but at least we're not Man U.

Well, that was more frustrating than it had to be. Still, you know that throwing on a bunch of back-benchers and development projects in order to rest some regulars is going to result in some disjointed displays, but it was still grittier than it had to be, and some of that can be fairly laid at the feet of referee Erik Lambrechts, who seemed at times to be auditioning for a position in the Prem or at least a demotion to the Europa League Conference, preferably whichever has worse refereeing standards. Despite his worst efforts, most of our squad managed to finish the match with their shirts intact even as FC Zürich did their level best to take those shirts off our backs.

FC Zürich Preview—Time to win this group already.

Our visitors have proven to be a tough nut to crack for everyone except PSV, who battered them by a combined scoreline of 10-1. Saka, Zinchenko, and Elneny back in training. Their other three results have all been tough 2-1 scorelines—two losses and then a well-earned 2-1 win over Bodø/Glimt that ended the Norwegian club's chance at advancing past the group stage. Can they put a dent in our campaign to win the group? We'll need a win because a draw would allow PSV, who hold the tie-break over us, to win the group. I previously suggested we rotate for this one but now wonder if we should go with a stronger lineup to ensure we avoid Barca or Juve (should the Italians manage to finish third).