71 passes, 94.4% accuracy, 3 clearances – Arsenal fringe player’s display last night just what Arteta needed

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Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners over Bodo/Glimt in Thursday night’s Europa League clash at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners were hoping to make it two wins out of two in the competition, after beating FC Zurich a month ago.

And while it wasn’t all plain sailing, Arsenal went on to record a comprehensive win over the Norwegian champions.

Arsenal led Bodo/Glimt 2-0 by half time, but could’ve been further ahead were it not for some wasteful finishing.

Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring in the 23rd minute following great work from Gabriel Martinelli and Kieran Tierney.

Martinelli got the better of two opponents before setting up Tierney, who took a touch and fired against the post.

Nketiah duly tapped home on the rebound to give Arsenal a deserved lead.

Then, just four minutes later, the Gunners doubled their lead with yet more superb play.

Vieira took a corner, which was cleared back his way, and he delivered a cross which Rob Holding headed home.

The visitors started to get some encouragement in the game after the restart.

This prompted Arteta to make some changes, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka coming on.

It proved the right call, with Arsenal holding firm, and Jesus was also the architect for Arsenal’s third goal.

He skipped past two challenges on the byline before pulling the ball back and laying a goal for Vieira to fire home.

It was a solid display from most of Arsenal’s players, and Holding will be especially happy with his efforts.

Strength in depth

The 27-year-old is fairly low down in the defensive pecking order, with William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White ahead of him.

Nonetheless, Holding is a great professional, and his display against Bodo/Glimt showed just how much strength in depth Arteta has in the position.

As well as scoring, the £2million Arsene Wenger signing delivered a solid performance.

As per Whoscored, Holding made 71 passes with 94.4% accuracy and took 80 touches of the ball.

He also won one aerial challenge, delivered five accurate long balls out of seven, and made three clearances, one tackle and one interception.

Holding has outlasted numerous Arsenal centre-backs since his arrival in 2016, testament to his talent, work-rate and attitude.

While the likes of Gabriel, Saliba and White will get the lion’s share of the Premier League minutes, Holding’s quality means Arteta can give one or two of them a rest in cup games.